King Myrrdin
by Rivka16
Summary: He knew what this meant. And he was happy that he would get to see his old friends again, but he knew it also meant he was going to have to leave Camelot. -Merlin gets called away by some old friends to deal with a problem, but he can't do it alone. A little AU. First Merlin fanfic. I'm terrible at summaries so just read it. Set before S2E13
1. Prequel

Merlin had just finished eating dinner and was about to slip into his bed when he heard a noise. He looked over to his window. Sitting there with a letter strapped to a small leather carrier on its back was a falcon, but not just any falcon. No this was a merlin. And one that Merlin had seen before. He walked over to it and lightly rubbed his hand over its wing, as if to assure himself that it was real. He smiled weakly. He knew what this meant. And he was happy that he would get to see his old friends again, but he knew it also meant he was going to have to leave Camelot. The bird was a bittersweet sign that his time had come.

"Well Níl" he said to the small falcon. "It has been a while since I've seen you." The bird looked up to him and ruffled its feathers. Merlin carefully took the rolled up letter out of the pouch and opened it up.

Valley of the Fallen Kings

Merlin looked once more at the bird. "Níl go to the entrance of the Valley of the Fallen Kings." The falcon cocked its head for a minute before flying off again. Merlin watched it for a minute before lifting up the floor boards under his bead. He grabbed his magic book and put it in his bag. The he grabbed a blue cloak he had kept hidden away.

He smiled at the gold and silver strands that were woven into it. The way they twisted around on the dark blue of the material always made him think of magic. It was what magic looked like when it was curled around a person. He had once seen it before when a passing druid showed him how to see the web of magic. It was woven into everything, even the earth itself. He had been able to see how much magic the druid had possessed by the amount of strand woven around him. He had also seen how much he had had. That was the first time he was called Emrys. After the druid left he could never recall how to see the magic web again, but he would not forget the experience.

He quietly left his room, and Gaius gave him a questioning look at seeing him in his old cloak. Merlin sighed. "Níl came to me Gaius. They've come to bring me home, and it means that he is back." He looked to the fire that was beginning to die down in the fire place. "After all these years… I thought- but I suppose it ever really was a dream. I knew this day was coming."

Gaius placed a comforting hand on Merlin's shoulder. He knew there were no words that could comfort his ward- his son. For that was what Merlin had become, the son he never had. As Merlin opened the door to leave he said the only thing he could. "Be careful Merlin."

He turned once more. His eyes full of sadness. He gave a small smile. "I will Gaius. I always do." And that was why he knew Merlin would be okay as he walked out the door. He knew he would see him again.

If only he had known how soon.


	2. Chapter 1

Arthur woke up to the light streaming through the window onto his face. He waited for Merlin's usual cheery voice to loudly exclaim, "Rise and Shine!" Except it never came. This was Arthur's first warning that something was wrong, but he ignored it and pulled his blanket closer to himself. When he still did not hear his servant's voice telling him to get up, or feel him tugging the sheets off the bed, he realized that something was definitely wrong. He rolled over and sat up, only to groan at the face he was met with. "_George."_

"Good morning sire. I-" he began but was quickly interrupted by a highly annoyed and confused prince.

"Where is my manservant?" Arthur announced, as he began to clamber out of bed.

"He is could not attend you this morning sire."

"That is plenty obvious. Why can't he? Is he ill?"

"I do not know sire."

Arthur had already thrown on some more decent clothes and had made his way to the door. As he opened and left George quickly followed him. "Sire you have not eaten br-"

"I know." Arthur growled at him. "Now leave me alone." He quickened his pace even as George turned around and went back into the prince's chambers to clean.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Arthur opened the door without a second thought. He was about to shout for Merlin when he noticed Gaius sitting at a table with a sad look about his face. "Sire, how can I help you?"

"You can help me by telling me why Merlin could not attend to me this morning." Gaius could tell that the prince was annoyed.

"I am afraid, sire that Merlin is not here."

"Well then where is he? And when will he be coming back?"

"I don't know where he is. He received word of a situation concerning his family and he had to leave immediately. He was not sure when he would be able to return." Arthur could not help but notice the worried look that passed over Gaius's face.

"A situation? What happened? Is Hunith alright?"

"Last I heard she was fine, however that is not the family I am referring to."

"I was unaware he had other family besides his mother. At least that he was in contact with."

"Merlin has a very large family, and he does not talk much about them. It is not surprising he has not told you. I doubt he has told anyone."

"Oh." There was an uncomfortable silence for a while during which Gaius wondered if he had revealed too much to the prince. His thoughts drifted to Merlin. Wondering where he was now, and what he was doing, until the silence was broken. "Uh, right, well then, thank you Gaius." And with that Arthur left thinking about Merlin and realizing that he really did not know anything about his servant's past and family.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Merlin had finally made it to the Valley of the Fallen Kings. He looked up to the trees and whistled. Out of the thick foliage came Níl who landed swiftly on his outstretched arm. He smiled and brought up a piece of meat he had grabbed before leaving, and gave it to the bird. Merlin waited for him to finish eating it before saying anything again. "Alright Níl, I need you to find Ileana." The falcon seemed to be thinking for a minute before jumping up and flying ahead a few feet before landing on a nearby tree branch. Merlin followed and as he got closer Níl repeated the same move. Merlin watched closely being sure to not miss the quick movements. He knew that soon enough he would be seeing his friends once again.


	3. Chapter 2

Warrick watched the knights as they sparred. They were all skilled in a different weapon than the other. Wymer was most efficient with quarterstaffs, and normally carried one because of it. However he was also a force to reckon with when he used his dagger that hung from his waist. He was currently sparring with Edith. Whilst she was good at quarterstaffs, she was most proficient with a bow and arrow- able to hit a bulls-eye on a target no matter how far, so long as it was in range- as well as the bolas. He looked over to Maurelle; she was currently fighting Nilson with their swords. While the other knights who also used them watched on. The only knight not sparing besides himself was Ileana. He walked over to where she sat by a tree.

"Sire." She said with a small nod.

"Ileana you know you don't have to call me that. You are like a sister to me. What's troubling you?"

"I miss him is all, and I worry. It's been years since we've heard from him."

"I know. I miss Merlin too, but will see him soon, you know that. You should be happy. He's probably following Níl as we speak."

"What if Níl couldn't find him."

"You know that won't happen. That bird is just as good a message carrier as he is a bloodhound, strange as his 'tracking' abilities are. He led us here didn't he? Even though we don't know where Merlin is, Níl does. He always knows. He's a smart bird, and if he hadn't found Merlin yet, you know he would have come back already."

Ileana gave a small smile. "I know." Her smile faded, "But after everything that happened can you blame me? Raymond is dead because of _Unwin_. We lost the kingdom Warrick. We lost the kingdom and our king. We fled. And now… I don't even know how Merlin is going to react when we tell him. It's not going to be good. You remember how he was when his father died."

Warrick winced at the memory. Unwin had killed Balinor and Merlin inherited his dragonlord abilities. The second he had taken his last breathe Merlin locked himself in his room for three days. When he finally came out he seemed a different man. He used his powers, to call upon the Wyrvens that lived in the surrounding mountains, and set them upon Unwin's army. He took his fighting knives and headed out to the battle waging below. Fought through the crowd in a blind rage. He had to have taken down at least 20 soldiers. It wasn't until he sunk his knife into Unwin's son, Randall, and heard his cry of grief for his son that Merlin had realized what he had done.

"I remember. But Merlin's older now, I'm sure he won't-" He stopped himself when a bird flew past his face before landing in front of Ileana. He looked up just as Merlin came into the clearing, and all the sounds of fighting stopped. They looked each other up and down before Merlin smiled and said the two words Warrick had thought he'd never hear again.

"Hello Brother."


	4. Chapter 3

Warrick smiled and walked up to Merlin. "Merlin, you haven't changed a bit!"

"I suppose, but I can't say the same for you. Look how you've grown! You're almost as tall as me now." He turned to Ileana who had come up next to Warrick, "And Ileana, I hope you haven't gotten yourself in too much trouble since I left."

"Of course not." She said affronted.

"Does that mean that breaking Lord Darwyn's wrist doesn't count as trouble?" Merlin looked at Warrick with wide eyes, and turned back to Ileana.

"Did you really?"

"Well he was snooping around the castle. It's not my fault he snuck up on me. He should of known not to do that to any woman, none the less a knight. He had it coming"

Merlin laughed. "It's good to see you again. Both of you. But where is Raymond?"

Warrick and Ileana's mouths snapped shut. It was now that Merlin noticed the silent knights looking on and bowing their heads where they had been training. He lost his smile quickly. "No. No he can't be. He isn't."

"I'm sorry brother, but it's true. Unwin killed him. I'm sorry." Both brothers were holding back tears.

Merlin took a deep breath and looked to the sky, before looking back down and releasing. He placed a hand over his mouth as tears began to stream down his face. Warrick hugged him as he too began to cry. They stayed like that for a while, grieving together and crying on each other's shoulders as the knights bowed their heads in respect behind them.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Merlin was sitting near the fire with Warrick looking up to the night sky. "So I'm king now huh?" Warrick looked over at his older brother.

"Yeah Merlin, you are." Merlin shook his head.

"I'm not meant to be king. I have a destiny now. Someone I have to protect."

"You have to Merlin. You're the predecessor to the thrown now that Raymond is gone. There isn't a way out of it like last time."

"I know. You do realize though that as soon as you are ready to be king I'm handing the thrown over to you right?"

Warrick looked over at Merlin. "That's what you want Merlin, and I wouldn't mind either, but what about the kingdom? So many changes in the ruler, it is one thing to be a regent, but you are a rightful heir to the throne. A move like that…it would cause chaos."

"I suppose your right. But I can't ignore destiny. I can't run away from it. Believe me I tried, and all it brought me was grief, and a lost love."

"You mentioned this destiny of yours before, what is it that holds your loyalty?"

"Warrick, you remember father's stories of the dragons, how they could see the future?"

"How could I forget? He said their prophecies always came true."

"I met a dragon. Kilgharrah. He's still alive."

"What?! How father would love to hear that. Tell me about him. Please."

"Well I had been hearing something calling my name and followed it down to a cave under the castle…"

_Flashback:_

_I walked into the cave and looked around. I could see a chain going up to the ceiling. I knew there was someone or something down here. "Where are you?!" I shouted. I could hear the flaps of wings as it came down to land on the outcropping in front of me._

_ "I am here. How small you are for such a great destiny." It said in a booming voice. And somewhere deep inside me I knew this was a dragon, and I could almost hear my father's voice saying Kilgharrah. _

_ "Y-you're a dragon. Kilgharrah. My father mentioned … Wait. What destiny?" I stuttered before realizing exactly what he had said._

_ "Your gift was giving to you for a reason, and not just your dragonlord powers." I had always wondered about that. None of my brothers had possessed magic and here I was. Born with it._

_ "So there is a reason?"_

_ "The Once and Future King will unite the lands of Albion in a time of peace." Kilgharrah stated._

_ "And restore magic to the land. I know the prophecy."_

_ "He will face many threats from friend and foe alike." I still didn't see where he was going with this, but I decided to play along._

_ "So a man will be born to protect him. The most powerful warlock that has ever and will ever exist. Emrys. I don't see the point of this. I've already heard it."_

_ "Together they will be unstoppable. Two sides of the same coin. Do you know who the Once and Future King is?" _

_ "No. Why? Are you saying you know who he is?"_

_ "Arthur is the Once and Future King. And without you he will never succeed. Without you there will be no Albion. " _

_ I blanched. "No. No, you've got this wrong." There was no way Arthur was the Once and Future King. And wait is he saying that I'm Emrys? The Emrys? Surely I'm not that powerful?_

_ "None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin, and none of us can escape it."_

_ "No. No way. No. No. There must be another Arthur because this one's an idiot."_

_ "Perhaps it is your destiny to change that." I watched as he flew off. I didn't even have the thought to call him back. I knew I wouldn't get anything else from him, unless I used my powers. But that wouldn't have been right._


	5. Chapter 4

Merlin looked to his brother, waiting for a response.

"You've been in Camelot?"

"Yes."

"All this time."

"Well… no. The first year I spent in Ealdor, with Hunith."

"Your old nursemaid? No wait. You're trying to distract me. I know you to well brother. You should know that doesn't work on me. Why would you leave Ealdor? What were you thinking going to Camelot?! Are you insane! You could have been killed!" Warrick screamed. Some of the knights woke up and promptly walked out of the camp to give the two brothers some time.

"We received news that Unwin was still hunting me. Started searching other kingdoms. I refused to put Hunith in danger. So we agreed on sending me to her brother, Gaius, in Camelot. The one place Unwin would never expect me to go." There was an uncomfortable silence. And after a while it was broken by the sound of Warrick's voice.

"Emrys huh? I always wondered why you had such strong magic and we didn't have any. Even father's magic wasn't very strong. But what made you believe Kilgharrah? It sounds like you had no faith, and now you don't want to take on your rolls because of it?" Merlin knew his brother was just trying to change the subject, and he silently thank him for it.

"Well there was a banquet that evening and Lady Helen was to sing. But a witch killed her and took her place. She made everyone go to sleep. She was going to kill Arthur, and I don't know, it was like my magic acted on its own. I could feel its want- its need to protect him. I dropped a chandelier on her, and when she threw a knife, I slowed time and pushed Arthur out of the way. Uther made me Arthur's manservant. And when I went to bed I could still feel my magic wanting to protect him, and I knew the dragon's words were true."

"So you're protecting Arthur because of a prophecy? Is that it? Is your duty to him stronger than to us?" Warrick quietly asked.

"No! No. It's not like that. I mean at first, yeah. But Arthur is becoming a great man, and a friend. He is not the same man I met those years ago, what is it now? Two? The point is I trust him with my life, and I would willingly give my life to see him safe. But this isn't going to change anything now. We need to discuss what we are going to do. How many knights do we have? Twenty?"

"Yeah, and about 500 of our soldiers who escaped, as well as a few others. The blacksmith for one, who has graciously offered to make new swords and armor if need be. However we would have to find him the necessary materials."

"That's good, but I don't think it will be enough to defeat Unwin's army from what you tell me."

"No. It won't be."

"Alright then. I can't believe I'm saying this, but we need help. And there's only one kingdom I know who will come to our aid… I'm sending a letter to Camelot."


	6. Chapter 5

Uther was being prepared for bed by his servants, when he heard the flapping of wings coming from the window. He turned to look and was surprised to see a small falcon with a leather scroll carrier strapped to its back. And in the carrier was a letter. He walked over and took the letter out of the carrier, wondering who would contact him by way of bird. It was very uncommon, and even those who did use birds to send messages would usually use small ones, like doves. Uther opened it and began to read.

_ King Uther,_

_ My apologies in contacting you in this way, however it is necessary for now, and it was of utmost importance that I reach you. My father may he rest in peace, was killed by a sorcerer known as Unwin a few years back. After that my brother Raymond became King of Snowdonia. We have had peace for almost four years since then, but unfortunately Raymond to fell victim to Unwin almost a week ago. Unwin has managed to take over Snowdonia, and has forced me, my younger brother, and anyone we could find, to flee. We have many of our soldiers and twenty of our best knights, but it will not be enough to reclaim our kingdom. I therefore humbly request your assistance in this situation. I know our kingdoms have never before interfered with each other, but now I ask for your help. I hope that I may be able to come to Camelot with my brother, if you will allow it. _

_ -King Myrrdin Ambrosius _

Uther was surprised that the king of Snowdonia was requesting his assistance out of all the kingdoms. He knew for a fact that Snowdonia had few allies, but they had always been indifferent to Camelot. He also knew that Snowdonia's knights were well known for their courage and skill, as well as their soldiers. The kingdom itself was a small one, but it prospered. The people had little to fear in attacks. Many had tried and failed to capture it, and if the city was ever placed under siege, the people willingly joined in the fight for it. The people were just as strong as the soldiers. If it had fallen, and to a sorcerer no less, then it would have taken much power. He also realized that Snowdonia could be a good ally to have. Uther took his quill and paper from his desk and wrote a reply, putting it back on the bird. The falcon quickly flew off, and Uther went to bed.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Early the next day the falcon flew into camp landing on Merlin's arm. "Well let's see what Uther has to say shall we?" He took out the letter and read it.

_ I of course will help you King Myrrdin. I look forward to meeting you and your brother, and will happily provide you aid in regaining your kingdom._

_ -King Uther Pendragon_

"Warrick, Ileana, and Wymer begin packing, we're going to Camelot."

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

They had been riding for hours. It had taken a while for Merlin to convince his brother to only bring Ileana and Wymer, but now he had to tell them some of the details he had left out, so he called for a stop and turned around to face his family. For that's what they were. His family.

"What is it Merlin is something wrong?" Ileana had a way of reading him like a book. Ever since he took her in and made her one of his most trusted knights, they had become almost like brother and sister. It wasn't that long after that it became the same for Warrick and Raymond.

"No I just need to tell you all some of the finer details. First of all, no mention of magic end of discussion." They all nodded knowing he was serious. "Good. Second when you talk to me around anyone, at least until I take my cloak off, I need you to address me as Myrrdin."

"Your Welsh name? Why?"

"Because I spent the last two years in Camelot and I don't want anyone to recognize me right away. I need everyone to be taking me seriously if we want Camelot's help, and right now they think of 'Merlin' as a bumbling idiot with a mental disease." Everyone laughed until they noticed that Merlin was being completely serious. "Are you done?" They nodded. "Good. I want all of you to try and stay on good terms with Arthur. He may come off as a prat, but he's not so bad once you get to know him." Warrick seemed a little annoyed by this but didn't say anything, while Ileana seemed thoughtful, and Wymer indifferent.

Merlin sighed, at least that was over with. He didn't like having to order his family about like that, but this time he really had no choice. He was going back to Camelot and this time he was bringing with him some of the only family he had left. He would have to tread more carefully than he had before. He couldn't afford to lose anymore, Unwin had already taken enough from him, and this time he wasn't going to run and let it happen. This time he would be ready. This time Unwin would not be taking anymore lives. Merlin looked down to the white castle that seemed to glow at the bottom of the hill and urged his horse forwards.


	7. Chapter 6

Arthur was waiting in the throne room with his father. They had just been given word that the king of Snowdonia, King Myrrdin he'd been told, had arrived with his brother and two knights. He was beginning to wonder if they lost their way, when the doors opened and four people entered.

The first one to enter was wearing a blue cloak with gold and silver threads climbing up it. He couldn't make much of anything out about the man, except that he was tall, and rather skinny. Right behind him came a young man with short tan hair and blue eyes. He had the build of a fighter, and let off an air of nobility. He fought the urge to sigh. He hoped this man wasn't like one of _those_ nobles. Merlin had once told him that if you looked carefully you could pick out the arrogant nobles, who misused their power over others, from the nobles who were _actually _noble. It hadn't made much sense to him at the time, but soon enough he figured out what his servant had meant. Yes he definitely hoped he was wrong and that it was just an act for the king on his part.

The next person to enter was older. He had grey hair and brown eyes. There was a scar running right above his jaw line and disappeared into his short beard. Arthur could tell right away this was a knight who had fought many battles, and had gained wisdom from what he had seen. He was using a quarterstaff like a walking stick, and a small dagger hung on his waist. The last person to enter shocked Arthur. He knew the person was a knight that was obvious from the weapons and armor, but a girl! Never had he seen a girl knighted, nor had he heard of it. It went against the knights code, but he supposed in Snowdonia they must have their own set of rules. The girl had long, dark brown hair. She had a sword, that didn't look like any he had ever seen before, strapped to her left hip. And she wore a glove with metal knuckle on her right hand. Her green eyes instantly bore into Arthur, and he realized she was assessing him. It slightly unnerved him.

"King Uther it is a pleasure to meet you. I am King Myrrdin and this is my brother, Prince Warrick." The cloaked man said as he pointed to the man behind him, who nodded his head in respect.

"I welcome you to Camelot Myrrdin. It is an honor to help you reclaim your kingdom." Arthur looked to his father. He had not been told the reason behind the visit of this king. He was rather surprised that his father had agreed to help reclaim a kingdom they had not interfered with before. He guessed that they had to have something that his father wanted. He would have to find out.

"And I thank you for it. Unwin had caused my people enough pain, and torn apart enough families. I believe it has gone on long enough." Warrick glanced to his brother. He hoped that this was just an act for Uther because if it wasn't… The memory of Merlin's reaction to his father dying once again returned to his mind.

Arthur was watching the prince carefully, and it was because of this he noticed the wary glance that Warrick shot at his brother. He thought it odd, and resolved to keep an eye on them. He was still curious as to why the king was wearing a cloak, to cover his face. But he quickly turned his mind back to the discussion going on, deciding he could dwell on it later.

"Unwin is reckless and a coward, but he is sneaky as a fox. We had problems before with him, and every time we got close, he would slip away with no trace. Normally we would be able to defeat an army of this size easily, but unfortunately Unwin is very powerful, and he has many sorcerers who follow him. From what my men tell me it was an army of 2000, and at least 100 of them possessed magic. We on the other hand have only a fraction of our soldiers, and our knights. A few of our people as well who have offered to join the battle, or do anything to help. This is not a battle we can fight alone."

Uther looked intently at the other king before answering. He had covered his face, yes, but he seemed a strong leader, and gave all the information that was needed nothing more, and although Uther didn't like not knowing all the facts, he recognized the strategic move. Yes, this king would definitely be good to have as an ally, so he spoke up. "And you will not have to, I promise you that."

"Thank you Uther. Although there is one thing I should warn you of."

"And what would that be."

"I… will not hold you to your promise of helping me or my kingdom should this change your opinions… Unwin has done more to my people and my family than most could endure. Not long after our father died, I met Unwin's son in battle. He ended up at my feet dead, and if I could go back and prevent I would, for because of that action Unwin went mad. If I had not done it then we would not be run out of our own home right now." He stopped and looked to his brother. "Unwin had sworn his revenge on me, and me alone, and he had begun to go to the extremes to get to me… In order to spare my people any more harm I fled to the woods and informed Unwin of my whereabouts. Because of this I was able to lure him away from Snowdonia.

"What I say now, I have not even told to my brother, though he is aware of some details, this is not one of them." He paused seemingly reliving a memory. "For six months I was in a constant battle with Unwin. He had men and dogs; I had only the clothes on my back. He hunted me like an animal. And for six months I lived like one, until he stopped. But I could not return to my home, for I knew Unwin would be waiting. So I left my kingdom, and I stayed with a friend for a year, until Unwin began to follow me there as well." He lifted his head and Arthur could feel his eyes boring into him, though he could not see him. "I left then to protect her. I did not have the power to fight Unwin and his men alone and still be able to protect her, and her village. And I came here." Arthur's eyes widened. "I came here and stayed with the one person she had trusted. It wasn't long before I met both you Uther, and Arthur. In fact I know you very well, and you know me, just not completely…" He seemed to stop and think about how to go on before continuing.

"Do you know what the name Myrrdin means? It is one of my many names, that one is simply my Welsh name." He lifted a hand up to his hood and pulled it down as he said. "It means Merlin."


	8. Chapter 7

Everyone gasped, and began whispering amongst themselves, while Uther visibly paled, but anyone could see the fury in his eyes. Arthur eyes bulged and his mouth hang agape, Merlin had to stifle a chuckle at his expression. He decided it was best to remain silent until Uther said anything, knowing he would have to speak with Arthur later. Uther's voice echoed around the hall suddenly.

"You're Arthur's servant that disappeared."

Merlin had to bite back a retort about stupid old tyrants. He knew it was more a statement than a question, but chose to answer anyways. "Yes, whilst here I did serve as Arthur's servant." He watched the king carefully, becoming slightly worried at the obvious fury in his eyes, he only hoped he would be able to take any accusations Uther threw at him. But Uther's next words struck a sore spot.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" Uther's voice bellowed loud enough that every person in the castle could hear. Merlin felt himself snap. He answered Uther with a growing anger in his quiet voice.

"You think me a fraud Uther. You think I could come up with such a lie, that I _would_ lie about such loss; such suffering?" Arthur was surprised by the quiet anger of his friend. "I told you of _my own_ suffering, something I have told no one of. Not even my own _brother. _I entrusted you to information that I was not expedite to give up, and you dare to call me fake; _a joke!" _Arthur was shocked still. This was a side of Merlin he had never seen before, and if what he said was true, of which he had no doubt, then his friend had suffered more than he had thought possible. Merlin had always seemed such a kindled spirit, that this stark contrast made him hope he was never on the receiving end of that anger. He had a feeling that Merlin could perhaps be more dangerous than given credit for. So when Uther spoke out, he had to hide a wince at his father's disregard of the danger.

"Why you should think I would help such a _coward _that would hide his face and run from danger, is beyond me. Why should I aid your kingdom?! You are a coward, a liar!" A change came over Merlin. His eyes darkened and glinted daggers that could pierce any man. His shoulder's became slightly slouched like he carried a heavy burden, and he seemed suddenly wiser than his years. The young man made king was replaced by a new man; a man who had seen and experienced more than some do in a lifetime. His voice was low and powerful.

"Coward. _Coward!_ You call me a coward! I think not Uther Pendragon. I did not run away from Unwin in cowardice. I did not hide in fear for myself! I stayed in the shadows to protect those I cared for. You have no idea what Unwin is capable of. The suffering he can cause! What I have been through at his hands, I would not wish on anyone. And if Unwin ever knew where I was he would be quick to fight through the gates of hell to get to me. I refused to live knowing I would have caused so many people grief, and loss. And I would not have been able to fight him myself. That would be an act of foolishness. I am no coward Uther. Do you know what it is like, to have to lie to your friends every day, just to ensure their safety? Knowing that if any found out the truth, that they could be killed, tortured even, that those who you care for would have to face the consequences of your actions. To live not knowing if you will ever be able to return home. To see your family, or to tell others who you really are. To face such a life… it takes more bravery and endurance than you will ever understand. You try to do that for near three years, Uther Pendragon, then talk to me about cowardice!"

He turned around and stormed out. Everyone's eyes were wide, even Warrick and the two knights behind him. They were all silent. Warrick quickly waved the girl knight over and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and walked out. He turned to Uther and said quietly. "You should have been more careful with your words _sire_. My brother has lost more than anyone could ever imagine. Although even I have never seen such a reaction from him, not even when our father died. There are many other kingdoms we could have gone to for help, but he chose this one because he believed you would understand what it is like losing your loved ones, to understand having to hide certain _details_." Arthur saw his father pale slightly at the prince's words. "But perhaps he was mistaken." He turned around and began to walk out waving the older knight to follow him.

Arthur looked to his father. The king looked as if he had just been slapped in the face. Arthur wondered why Warrick's words had elicited such a reaction from his father. Obviously they meant something to him that Arthur did not see. He was still shocked that _Mer_lin was a king. He hardly believed it himself, but after what just happened, he wasn't sure who his friend was. There was apparently much more that he didn't know about Merlin, and it bothered him. He was hurt that Merlin hadn't trusted him with this. He was going to have to have a long talk to Merlin about this. But that would have to wait until he could leave. The silence in the room was suffocating, and Arthur felt he needed to say something, but he didn't know what to say so he spoke the one word that asked it all. "Father?"

Uther looked to him. Arthur saw that his fury was replaced with respect, and something else that he had never seen his father show before. Shame. Arthur wondered what there was that he was ashamed about, but was brought out of his thoughts by Uther's quiet voice. "Everyone is dismissed."

Arthur was the last to leave, and as the door shut behind him, he managed to get a glimpse of his father, sitting on the throne lost in a memory long forgotten.

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**I know what you're thinking right now about this. Oh my god, she actually wrote an author's note! Alright I know I'm not that funny, so just go along with it. **

**Alright... I have to say it took me a while to write this chapter only because I had no idea how I was going to have Uther react. So I went with an old idea I brainstormed up with Merlin loosing his temper. I know he's very OOC in this chapter but you know… It's an AU fic. Tell me how you like it! The next chapter will have more of Arthur in it. **

**And for anyone who didn't understand Uther's reaction to Warrick mentioning _'_**_**hiding certain details'**_** I was referring to Uther not telling anyone about the circumstances of Arthur's birth, and Ygraine's death. The same goes for Uther's 'forgotten memory'. Also I would like to thank everyone who has been reviewing, it really keeps me going. So don't be afraid to review for those who haven't, and I'm always open for suggestions if you do. **


	9. Chapter 8

**Alright this one's a bit longer than the others, so I hope you like it.**

**Also I realized I didn't do the disclaimer before so:**

**I don't own Merlin, as much as I wished I did, because then it wouldn't be ending right now. **

**Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Enjoy the story!**

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Merlin was sitting up on top of the battlements looking over the lower town. He hadn't meant to lose his temper, and he mentally berated himself for walking out on Uther. He could have very well just lost his only chance to prove himself, and he was sure Uther would not want to help him now. He had, after all, told the king he would not hold him to his promise of aid. He silently watched the people move about the town, not noticing the girl creeping up behind him.

"Merlin?" Her voice was hesitant, not sure how he would react. She had never seen her friend, no, her brother in all but blood, express such anger. He tilted his head slightly towards her.

"Ileana." He smiled slightly, waving her over, and Ileana came next to him. They stood in silence for a minute.

"What you said… about Unwin hunting you, I didn't know."

"No one knew Ileana, not even Hunith or Gaius. It's not something I like to remember. Sometimes I still hear the dogs barking and the men's shouts. I can't bring myself to hunt animals anymore even. I go with Arthur and I look away because I know what it is like to be hunted."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault Ileana. I should have never killed Unwin's son. I shouldn't have even reacted to Balinor's death in such a way. I shouldn't have lost my temper in there either. I-I don't know what came over me, but when he called me a coward. I just… couldn't… I don't know. Maybe Uther was right, I am a coward." Ileana's response was immediate, hitting Merlin lightly on the shoulder for saying such a thing.

"You are not a coward Merlin! You're braver than all of us, and honestly if I was in your position I would have snapped long before then. Uther's lucky you spoke up when you did, because if you didn't I would have, and I couldn't promise he would of come out of it with use of both arms."

Merlin chuckled. It was just the sort of thing Ileana would have done. She was very protective of her friends, and even more so of him since he had been the one to give her a second chance. "You're right. But do try to restrain from hurting the king. Perhaps I can still make up with him. We need Camelot's help."

"Mmm, I don't know there are plenty of other kingdoms."

"Yes but how many would be willing to help our kingdom that would stand a chance against Unwin. I doubt Caerleon has even heard of us. Cenred would be strong enough, but he would also not be willing to help, though I wouldn't want his any ways. Nor would I go to Alined, in fact I already had a run in with him. He doesn't like me very much…

"What about the other kingdoms?"

"They wouldn't stand a chance. Well maybe Bayard and his army could do it, but I just don't know. I mean my first year they made peace with Camelot, but I doubt they would be willing to enter another war, no matter how small." While Merlin rambled on, Ileana caught the movement of a familiar blonde working his way to Merlin. She smiled and looked back to Merlin.

"Well it's good to see that you've calmed down." Merlin looked at her confused and she motioned with her head towards the approaching prince. Merlin spun to look and visibly gulped. It seemed he was not looking forward to this encounter. But when he turned back to Ileana, she was already gone, leaving him alone with his friend.

"Merlin."

"Uh, hi Arthur… Look I'm sorry for leaving with no warning, and then coming back like this, and-"

"Merlin." Merlin shut his mouth immediately. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you not feel you could trust me?"

Merlin was hurt that Arthur thought that was the reason why he never said anything. "Weren't you listening in there at all? If anyone ever found out it would have put them in danger. It would have put the whole kingdom in danger. I couldn't deal with that."

"I would have kept it a secret Merlin! I wouldn't have said anything! You're my friend! And now I find out you're a king! You should have said something! Anything! Forget about before, as soon as you learnt of Snowdonia's fall, why didn't you tell me then?!"

"I'm sorry Arthur, but I didn't want to take any chances. Anyways, if I had told you would you have believed me?!" Arthur stayed silent and looked away. If anyone had told him before, that one day he would be getting a scolding from his manservant he would have rolled over laughing, but right now he wasn't finding it to funny. "That's what I thought. You wouldn't have believed me. You would have laughed and told me how stupid I was before sending me to do more chores." Arthur couldn't come up with a come back to that. How could he, it was true. He changed the subject.

"Y- you said you were hunted. Like an animal." Merlin sighed. He had known this was going to come up.

"You know how I don't like to go hunting." Arthur nodded. "It was because of this. Don't get me wrong, I still didn't enjoy it before, preferring to only hunt when necessary, but after my experience… Even hunting for food reminds me of those six months. When we go out into the woods Arthur, I hear the dogs barking, and the men shouting as they look for me. The darkness can sometimes be suffocating, and the nights seem endless. It doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes…

"I admit I was scared those six months. By day I would run, anywhere that was further away from Unwin and had a place to escape to. I would find my food along the way, and eat while moving. At night I would find a tree that I could get in. I would lie down on the highest branches, and tie myself down. I would stay there, and go to sleep worrying they would find me…" He paused. "Once they did. Find me that is. I had still been on the ground, and the dog came out of nowhere and attacked. My leg was severely injured and I couldn't move my right arm. Lucky for me Unwin wasn't nearby, only some of his men. They sent all but one to find Unwin, thinking I couldn't do anything while in such a state. They were wrong." Merlin stopped. He couldn't mention he had used his magic to get away. He decided to just skip that and move on. "I got away, but only just. It was hard walking, every step I took I would have to stifle a cry, and fight myself not to collapse from the pain, but I did it… Limping I found a river and washed up the best I could, just as the sun rose." Merlin went quiet looking over Camelot again.

"Th-that's terrible. How did you do it? How were you able to move past such an experience." Arthur was curious. How could kind Merlin have been through such a thing. And then the black haired boy began to speak.

"I didn't." Arthur looked at him. "Well at least not fully. It still haunts me. I still remember it and have nightmares… I still have the scars, physically and mentally, but I forgave them." Arthur's eyes widened. "They were only doing as they were told by Unwin. That's what they thought was best. And Unwin was angry about his son. I-I shouldn't have killed him. And it hurts that I don't fully remember it because, I was in a blind rage. Unwin had killed my father, and I had already lost my mother. He had killed so many of my friends, so many of my people. I lost hold of myself. And I regret it, because that day I became something I hope I never will again. I became a monster. I was no better than Unwin himself."

"You know I was angry with you for not telling me any of this, but now I just can't bring myself to be." Merlin scoffed.

"Wow, I didn't know you cared Arthur." Arthur realized it was the perfect opportunity to change the somber mood. So he took it without hesitation.

"Hey!" Arthur grabbed Merlin and gave him a noogie. Merlin began squirming to try and get out of Arthur's grip. "Stop it you prat!"

"No I don't think I will."

"I'm a king now you know. Your father would not be happy with this!" Arthur stopped.

"Fine. But I want you to tell me about Snowdonia." Merlin's eyebrows rose.

"Really?" Arthur nodded, and Merlin's face brightened instantly. He seemed like he was glowing. "Alright. Well It's surrounded by mountains that are so high up that the tops are covered in snow year round. My father used to tell me that dragons used to live there, but now that they're gone it's been overrun by Wyrvens. They don't trouble us though, so long as we don't come near them. The people are all so nice, and there was always enough food to go around. I don't think we've ever had a time where the people would go hungry; at least that I can remember. And every one knew each other. I used to go into town a lot actually. Even helped a few people occasionally. Everyone trusted each other. Everyone was willing to help another.

"I used to go into the forest with only my brothers because there were no bandits that came so close to the city. That was until Unwin came. But even after that we still went out alone. The forest was so peaceful. Once I was out there and a deer came right up to me. Even got close enough to pet it. The birds used to come down and fly around us even. It was actually what convinced me to get Níl, my falcon. He acts as my message carrier, and sometimes a bloodhound as Warrick likes to say.

"And if anything happened that threatened the kingdom, such as Unwin, every citizen who was able would pick up what weapons they had and join the fight. Fought alongside our soldiers, and knights. Some even joined the ranks of our archers. Sometimes we would lose the city, but we would have it back in a matter of days. We all worked together to rebuild. I mean Snowdonia's a small kingdom, so we had to learn to cooperate."

"It sounds… I don't know…"

"Like a dream?" Merlin supplied. "Or more specifically your dream of what you want Camelot to be like. You told me about it once... I said this before, and I'll say it again. That dream is possible. And you'll be the one to create it Arthur." Arthur was speechless. Merlin had just taken everything going through his mind and put it into words.

"I don't know if-"

"Don't you dare say you can't do it. Look at all those people Arthur." He motioned to the town below. "Each and every one of them believes in _you_. They believe you will be a great king, and you will be the one to lead them into a golden age Arthur, where everyone is considered equal, and peace reigns. You will be the best king Albion has ever known. Look at your people Arthur, and never doubt yourself for a minute." Arthur was silent. He couldn't come up with anything to say to that, so he opted to watch over the people moving about the town below, as the sun began to set on the horizon.

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**I'm not sure how I feel about how this chapter came out. It didn't really end up quite as planned, but I just couldn't find a way to put in everything I wanted, and still have it make sense. **

**Bit of a contrast to the last chapter with Merlin. **

**And for those who were hoping for Arthur blowing a fuse, I didn't really think he would have the heart to do that. At least after Merlin just told everyone he had pretty much suffered more than most people would ever be able to. And he had a noble reason. Merlin **_**was **_**trying to protect him. **

**But I do promise that sometime in the future of this story Arthur will be getting into a fight with Merlin. I just don't know when yet. But it will happen. I promise!**

**So please review, tell me what you think. Any suggestions are also welcome.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Alright I apologize for being a bit late with this chapter but, I just got on vacation and I left for Vermont not long after getting out of school. So I really didn't have much time. But I worked on this all day just to get it up for all of you, so here you go!**

**Also I can't believe Merlin is at its end! I hope all of you great writers out there will keep it going through your great fanfictions. **

**Oh, and I don't own Merlin.**

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"I can't believe I'm about to do this." Merlin muttered to himself. He was walking towards Uther's chambers, to apologize for his outburst in an attempt to get Uther to help him. He arrived to come face to face with two guards. "Can you tell Uther that I would like to speak with him?" The guards grunted, and one knocked on the door and announced him. Merlin heard Uther quietly tell the guard to allow him entrance. The guard opened the door further as he walked in.

Merlin was surprised to see Uther sitting by the window looking out , seemingly lost in a memory. "Uther." He waited for a response, but all he got was a slight turn of the head. He continued. "I- uh… wanted to apologize for my outburst. It was uncalled for. I- I understand if you choose not to help my kingdom." Uther continued to sit there. "Well, uh… I guess… I'll just go then." But as he turned Uther called out to him.

"Merlin, or Myrrdin, or whatever you prefer to be called. Whilst I accept your apology, it is not you who should be saying any. It should be me." For the first time Uther stood up, but he continued to look out the window. "Your brother reminded me, after you left, of my own mistakes. I understand what it is like to lose loved ones in war. Ygraine is only one of my losses. Though it seems you have lost more. You were right, you are not a coward for hiding yourself to protect others. Nor are you a liar, for keeping secrets for the safety of those you care for. I too know what that is like. It is one of the hardest things I ever did." Merlin's eyes were wide. He definitely had not expected this. He knew what Uther was talking abut of course. He was talking about hiding the real circumstances of Arthur's birth from the public.

He recalled Uther's first words. He still hadn't made it obvious if he was to be called Myrrdin or Merlin. Truth be told he had many names; almost too many to count. "Merlin." He murmured. "I prefer Merlin."

"Merlin then. I will help you reclaim your kingdom. And I will be honored to fight alongside such a brave man."

"Thank you. I… it means much to have Camelot as an ally. I know it will be a strong one."

Uther considered this for a minute. He knew Merlin had spent two years here. He knew that he had worked as a servant. It was a great show of humility. Something hard to come by in kings. He also knew that Merlin's friendship with Arthur was strong. He knew his time would be ending soon, making and alliance with Snowdonia now, he knew it would carry on into Arthur's reign when the time came. This was good. "Yes. It shall."

The two kings clasped each other's arms and nodded. Merlin left with a smile on his face. This went better than he thought. He set off to find his brother and tell him the good news.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Arthur was walking around the castle, still trying to get used to the fact that Merlin was a king. He accepted it yes. He knew _why_ Merlin hadn't told him, he just had to get used to the new information. Gwen walked by and smiled at him. He smiled back. Ever since he had stayed with her when disguising himself for that jousting tournament, they had grown closer. Arthur was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn't notice the girl who was standing behind him. He jumped and spun around when she spoke.

"You know you aren't what I expected." It was the girl that came with Merlin.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well when Merlin found us he spoke so highly of you-"

"Did he now?" Arthur was honestly surprised.

"-he also said you were a royal prat." Ah. That sounded more like his friend.

"Well what do you think?"

"I think I don't know you enough yet. Merlin spent 2 years with you from what I hear, and I've only met you now. But if you really want to know… I think you're the person who will stand up for what he thinks is right, but who needs a little push. I think you don't care about rank, and want equality. I think you have the makings of a great king… but… I also think that you have trouble showing your feelings."

"What!" Arthur was a bit angry by her last words, but he knew they rang true. He was still curious however. "What gives you that idea?" She smiled.

"That's my secret." Arthur stared at her for a moment, before giving in to the fact that she wouldn't tell.

"Alright. Fine. At least answer me this. How did _you_ become a knight."

"How did I know you were going to ask that? Alright fine. You want to know how a girl became a knight. Well in Snowdonia, any woman is allowed to fight, and to become a knight if they pass the test. Of course I became a knight a bit differently than the others. I didn't really care about being one, I never even considered it. But I should start at the beginning…

_Flashback:_

_ I was walking through the woods. It had been a long day. I hadn't found anything to eat, except that bread those nice people gave me, and I had managed to cover at least 20 miles in one day. It seemed so much easier when Drake was around. I missed him. I remember all those times he I would ask him to teach me to use a sword and all I got were lessons on hand-to-hand combat. He always said I was a natural. But those stupid slave-traders had to kill him. It made me so angry. I didn't have anyone left now._

_ I was looking for a place to rest, but a noise caught me off guard. Wait? Was that the sound of… swords. No. There were never any bandits in these woods. But… _

_ I ran as quietly as I could towards the sound. I finally broke through the brush, and was greeted with a sight that made me freeze. A group of four mercenaries were fighting a lone boy, with black hair, and blue eyes. He had to knives in his hands, that were dancing in an intricate pattern as he fought off the men as best he could. He was fighting people with _swords_ using_ knives_. How was he still standing?!_

_ I jumped in the fight hoping to give him a helping hand. I poked one man on the shoulder. He turned around and I punch him in the nose. He fell to the ground. I grimaced. That was definitely broken. One man saw his friend fall and grabbed my arm. I kicked him in the stomach. His grip loosened and I was able to pry myself free. I grabbed him by the neck and held him until he fell unconscious from the lack of air. I made sure he wasn't dead though. I looked up, and saw that the boy had incapacitated one of his attackers, and was kneeling with one of his knives held against the others throat, as he lay on the ground. I could see he was whispering something to him, but I couldn't make out what it was. _

_ I saw the man shake his head, and then the boy knocked him out with the pommel of the knife. He looked up to me. "Well then. What's your name?" I was surprised by his obvious ease and trust of me. We had only just met._

_ "Ileana. My name is Ileana."_

_ "That's a pretty name. My name's Merlin… Uh, I should say thanks for helping me out there." I stared at him. How could he be so trusting?! I didn't even know who he was. Well I knew who he was, but not _who_ he was. "You're not from around here are you? I would have known you otherwise. I know everyone in Snowdonia, but I've never seen you before. Where do you live?" _

_ "I don't live anywhere." Wait did I just say that. What was I doing. I shouldn't be telling anyone about me. But something about Merlin just made me want to spill my secrets._

_ "Why not. Why would a nice girl like you not have a home?"_

_ "My parents died." Why did I say that? What was I thinking?_

_ "So you just left? Why would you do that? It's hard living alone in the forest. Unless you're a druid; but you're not a druid. I can tell."_

_ "I didn't just leave! My brother made me. He said we had to go. I left with him!" I snapped at him. Why was I telling him all this. Why did I trust this boy._

_ "Oh. I'm sorry… you must miss him."_

_ "Yeah I- wait how did you know he was dead?"_

_ "Well he's not here now, and you seemed pretty upset when I assumed you left home alone." I stared at him wide eyed. "I should thank you, you know."_

_ "You already did."_

_ "No, I should give you something in thanks is what I mean. Why don't I bring you back to Snowdonia and I can get you a place to stay?" What? Did he just offer to get me a place to stay? This scrawny boy in a servant's clothes._

_ "I don't think you would be able t-"_

_ "Of course I can! I'll make sure my father gives you some money too." I gave him a dubious look. "What? A prince can't help the person who saved his life?"_

_ "You're a prince." I stated. I looked again at his clothing. Yeah right, and I'm a fairy princess. He looked down._

_ "Oh! You don't believe me. Sorry. I really am a prince. I just put this on to get out of the castle. Dressing as a servant can get me anywhere, even though the whole kingdom knows my face. I'm sure my father would be happy to help you."_

_ "Riiight." I think he's delusional._

_ "No really I am!" I was about to walk away when a knight with a blue cape, with a silver griffin stitched on it, ran into the clearing._

_ "Merlin! The king has been worried sick about you! You've been gone for hou- what happened here. Who's she?" I stared with my mouth agape. He really was a prince! What the hell! He started talking again._

_ "Some mercenaries snuck up on me. I was actually quite surprised, they hardly ever come this close to the city. As for Ileana here, she helped me fight them. Probably saved my life too."_

_ "Yeah Merlin I don't believe that for a minute, you could have taken on thirty mercenaries and come out unscathed. But if you say so." I didn't know what this knight meant, but I really didn't care. The two started to walk away, but Merlin turned around last second. _

_ "You coming?" I looked at him. God he was so much like my brother._

_ "Yeah. I'm coming."_

_End flashback:_

"So you became a knight because you saved his life?" Arthur was surprised someone could be knighted that easily.

"Of course not! Well I mean yeah it was what led to it, but it is not how I became a knight. I couldn't even use a sword. Well that is until Merlin found someone to teach me, or try that is. I just could get it. I knew what I was supposed to do, but I couldn't find a sword that felt right. I just couldn't do it."

"Then why do you have a sword now?"

"This? This isn't just any sword. I found it when a merchant from a land across the sea came to Snowdonia. It's called a katana. It's completely different from any sword you will ever set your eyes on as I'm sure you've noticed?" He nodded. "Merlin and I had become like brother and sister by then. He saw my eyes on this sword, and bought it right away. When I gripped it, it felt so natural. Merlin told me that that was how he felt with his knives. Said that he had all his knights choose to weapons. One they were naturally good at, and one that they just seemed to know was theirs to use. He managed to find me an instructor who had learned how to use a katana a long time before. After a couple months he said there was nothing more he could teach me. I had already mastered it. And shortly after Merlin offered to knight me if I could pass the test."

"Well, it sounds like you are a skilled fighter."

"Yes I suppose I am, Merlin's better though, better than anyone."

"I wouldn't say that-"

"He's better because he knows when to stop. He doesn't kill unless it's absolutely necessary. His natural gift is the best weapon, and he uses it to the best of his ability. It is what has stopped many fights among people as he grew older."

"And what would his natural talent be?"

Ileana bit her lip. She couldn't tell him about Merlin's magic, but maybe there was another way around it. Suddenly it came to her, it was technically true. "Words. His natural gift if his way with words." And with that she walked away.

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**So tell me what you think. Was it good, bad? I want your opinion, and your suggestions. So please review! **


	11. Chapter 10

**Alright, I'm going to apologize in advance, I won't be able to update this for the next 5-6 days because I'll be at an event where there is absolutely no internet access. **** But hopefully when I get back I'll have a chapter ready, and if I'm really lucky, two. We'll see what happens.**

**Enjoy the story!**

**I don't own Merlin**

_The castle was quiet, with only a few servants who were completing chores. In the kitchens the maids were finishing up their breakfast. All was quiet._

_ CRASH!_

_ A pile of dishes fell over by the dish tub to reveal two small boys of about five years old . One had light brown hair and the other midnight black. They looked at each other, and then back at the kitchen maids. The head cook came into the room and took one look at the boys._

_ "What are you two doing down here? You should be in your rooms." Her voice was warm, and gentle, but there was also a little sternness in it as well._

_ "We only wanted a snack, right Raymond?" The black haired boy bit his lip._

_ "Yeah. We're hungry." The brown stated with authority. The cook smiled._

_ "Alright, I guess I can get you two a little something, but don't let your parents know." She handed them both a piece of bread._

_ "Thanks Julie! We won't tell anyone!" _

_ "Alright Merlin." She laughed, "Now go on boys, get back to your rooms before your mother finds you missing." The two boys ran out of the kitchen, laughing as the went. The image began to grow blurry, and fade. Slowly it began to merge with a new image,_ as eyes began to open the dream faded until all that was left was a memory.

Merlin looked around, the curtains were drawn back, and the sun was shining onto his face. He yawned. A voice interrupted the silence in the room. "How did you sleep?"

Merlin looked across the room to see Warrick standing by the door. "Good actually. Where were you last night by the way? I couldn't find you. I have good news."

"I was at the tavern with Wymer, met a few of Camelot's knights there. One actually thought they could beat Wymer at arm wrestling."

"Really? You probably should have warned him. Wymer may be a bit older than the rest of us, but he sure as hell isn't weak. If he was he wouldn't be able to do anything with that quarterstaff of his."

"Yeah, your right. So what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh. I went to Uther last night and apologized. Don't look at me like that! He… uh accepted it. And then he told me that he was the one that should be sorry, not me. But he's willing to help Snowdonia, and we have an unofficial alliance now. I just wanted you to know."

"Well I didn't expect that. I gave him a few words after you left the other day, but I didn't think…"

"Yeah, neither did I. But I'm not going to question it. What _are_ you doing here by the way?"

" I actually wanted to talk to you."

"And what would you like to talk about."

"Well, Ileana came to me last night after she talked with Arthur." Merlin raised his eyebrows. "No! No it's not like that! I don't even think… never mind. She came to me because you had already retired to bed, and she felt she needed to warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"She said she may have accidently hinted to Arthur about you having" He glanced around, "You know… your _gifts._"

"She did WHAT?!"

"Well she didn't come right out and say, it's just they were talking about how every knight had two weapons, and he asked what your natural talent was, and…"

"Well did she tell you her exact words when she answered?"

"She said that she had told him that your gift was your way with words."

"My way with words. Oh I thought it was worse than that. Don't get me all worried like that."

"You're not angry? Worried that he might figure it out?"

Merlin laughed. "Nah, if there's one thing I learned about Arthur over my last couple years serving him, it's that he's completely oblivious, and to be honest, a bit of a cabbage-head. If anything he'll probably just be confused, but I doubt he'd figure it out even if I used it right in front of him." He paused. "Actually I have now that I think about it. And on a daily basis even!"

"Alright even I have to admit, that's pretty bad. He must be really thick to not notice that!" They both burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter that lasted for several minutes. Merlin was about to say something to his brother, but there was a knock on the door.

"Enter!" The door creaked open and one of Uther's servants entered the chambers.

"Milords, his royal highness, King Uther, requests your presence in the council room immediately." The two brothers looked at each other before walking out and towards the council room.

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When Arthur awoke, he felt like he was forgetting something important. Really important. What was it… suddenly the memories of yesterday came back full force. How could one day be so eventful? Arthur worked to sort through his new information.

Merlin was a king. Alright, that's a bit of a change.

Merlin had kept this a secret in order to protect everyone. That just proves that Merlin actually can keep secrets. He'll have to keep that in mind.

Merlin had lost his parents, and a brother because of a sorcerer, and apparently had suffered greatly at his hands. Well Merlin must be stronger than he gave him credit for. He continued through the list of facts, drawing conclusions from each piece, until he came to his conversation with the girl knight. What did she say her name was… Ileana. She had said that Merlin's natural talent was his way with words. What was that supposed to mean! It sounded like a load of rubbish to him. He became very confused.

Sure he had to agree Merlin certainly was quick to come up with insults, but honestly how would _that_ prevent fighting, like Ileana had said. No she had meant something else, but what was it… There was a knock on the door and George entered. "Sire, the king has asked you to come to the council chambers."

Arthur groaned. "I was unaware that there was to be a council meeting."

"It is not a council meeting, sire, you will be meeting with king Merlin and prince Warrick."

Arthur's head perked up. His father must have decided if he was going to help reclaim Snowdonia. He got up, and George began to help him get ready.

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Merlin and Warrick arrived at the council chamber, at the same time as Arthur did. They looked at each other, a bit uncomfortably, before entering. They were greeted by a smiling Uther when he saw them enter as one. Arthur went to sit to the right of his father, while Merlin and Warrick sat across from them. Merlin knew what this was about. He had made the alliance last night; of course it was still unofficial. After the war was over he would have to return to sign a treaty, but until then they would be focusing on defeating Unwin, and reclaiming the small kingdom. Merlin nodded in thanks to Uther, who returned it. Uther turned to Arthur.

"Arthur, I want you to lead the troops we will be sending to help Snowdonia." Arthur's eyes widened. He was going to be leading them? "You'll need to work with Merlin and his brother to find the best course of action."

Merlin was mentally smiling at this development. He much more preferred working with Arthur than Uther. He had already gone through the maps of Snowdonia in his head, and mad sure to take into account the changes that Warrick had informed him of; including a new siege tunnel running under the castle that they could enter about a mile out of the city.

Uther's voice broke his thoughts, "We'll need to know as much as we can about Unwin and his army, as well as the structure of your defenses."

"Of course. My brother can tell you about the army and defenses the best. As for myself, I'll be able to tell you anything you need to know about Unwin. Six months in a constant battle with a man, you begin to know him better than yourself." Uther nodded at this, and Warrick began to speak, pulling out a map of Snowdonia that he had brought with him.

He pointed to a large forest on the western side of the city. "This is where Unwin amassed his army. He attacked from here as well. We held our own for a while until he sent out his sorcerers. We managed to hold them off, but that was it. We weren't winning, we were just surviving. After some time one of the sorcerers was able to get a few strong hits on are walls. The wall crumbled. It wasn't long after that, that they were able to force us back. He has about 100 sorcerers. Not all are strong, but a few of them hold great power. It will be hard to defeat them.

"Unwin has men patrolling the forest looking for anyone who escaped. I can tell you now, that they won't find them."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "And why is that? How can you be so sure?"

Merlin answered for his brother "Because Unwin doesn't know our kingdoms evacuation plan for situations like this. Our people never go to the forest if we evacuate." Merlin pointed to the mountains surrounding the north and east sides of the city. "They'll be here, protected by the caves in the mountains. And if Unwin even did know where they were, he wouldn't dare enter them."

"The wyrvens?" Arthur recalled his conversation with Merlin. Uther looked to his son surprised, as Merlin answered.

"Yes. The caves were once inhabited by the dragons long ago. The wyrvens now live in the mountains, but they still don't enter the caves. However their presence does instill fear in would-be attackers. No one has ever crossed the mountains to attack, and no one enters them. It's too dangerous."

"If it's too dangerous then why would you hide your people there?" Warrick answered this time.

"Because we happen to know that the wyrvens won't attack unless provoked. We are sure to keep everyone within close proximity to the caves for safety precautions. And on the way up the mountains our people keep away from their nesting grounds. Also only our citizens know the caves location, so even if someone did know we were in the mountains, and tried to find us, they would only run into the wyrvens."

"I can see how that would be seen as ideal for evacuation."

"The mountains will also help us. Unwin is unaware of our location. If we go around Snowdonia to the other side of the mountains, we can cross them and meet up with everyone else. It will take longer, but it will also ensure that Unwin doesn't know we are there. In fact that's how we got here, for all Unwin knows, my knights and I are still with the rest of our people and soldiers. He'll also be unaware that Merlin has returned. That will work in our favor." Arthur was confused, Warrick made it seem like Merlin was the best chance they got at winning this. Merlin couldn't even fight!

Merlin however was thinking this through carefully. He didn't want to tell Arthur about his magic until they were well away from Camelot. It would give Arthur more time to think things through. Merlin knew he would have to tell him at some point, because he would be needing to use his magic to fight Unwin. He was also probably the only one who would be able to hold off the stronger sorcerers. He was aware that there were some skilled magic users in his kingdom, but none of them were trained to fight with it. He also realized he would probably need to call upon some of the wyrvens, in the mountains, to fight. He looked to Arthur, and immediately saw what he was thinking. "Arthur, I'm a better fighter than you think."

Arthur looked up and when he looked into Merlin's eyes, he saw a power there that he had never noticed before. He remembered Merlin's outburst the day before. The boy he thought to be completely harmless, had seemed to give off an aura of power then as well. He recalled what Ileana had said. 'Words, his way with words.' Could she have meant something more than that?

Uther had remained silent. He wanted to see how Arthur would handle this situation, and how much trust Arthur and Merlin had for each other. It seemed there was more than just trust. There was respect. And something more. Friendship? Yes that was what it was. This would be good in the years to come.

Warrick broke the silence. "We will need to discuss how many men you'll be sending with us. And what skills they have." Both Arthur and Uther looked to him confused. Merlin cut in.

"Warrick, they don't train the knights the same as us. They all are skilled in the same weapons." He turned to Arthur and Uther, "You see our knights don't only learn to use the swords. Each knight learns to use two weapons. One of which they know and have mastered before they join us, and one which they choose after. Not all of our knights use the same weapons. Whilst one might use their hands and sword, the other may use dagger and quarterstaff, or an ax and a flail. They fight each other using different weapons, and it prepares them to be able to fight anyone in any situation. My brother was unaware that your knights have different standards." Arthur remembered what Ileana had said about using hand-to-hand combat and later her katana. Arthur had thought it impractical to have to find a different teacher for each weapon, but now he understood a how there was a bit more of an advantage to that.

Uther looked thoughtful. "An interesting concept. I can see how having knights with different skills could be useful in a fight. But Warrick did make a good point, we should discuss how many men you will be needing." Merlin looked to Warrick.

"Well Unwin has 2000, we have 20 knights that survived and can fight. Unwin managed to capture or kill about 30, and we have maybe 15 that were injured and can't fight, but can still help train our people to fight. So we have maybe 150 civilians who can and will fight. And-"

"You're going to let civilians fight!" Uther was highly against this.

"Yes. They always have, and always will. Our people care for each other, and even if we tried to keep them to away, they would still find a way to join the battle. Because of this many of our knights have taken to teaching them to fight when they are out of commission, and have nothing else to do. Most of them are skilled fighters, and sometimes their support and experience can sway a battle."

"I don't agree with this, but it is not my kingdom or my people." Uther recognized a lost cause when he saw one, at least he thought so. Merlin nodded and motioned for Warrick to continue.

"Anyways, we also have about 500 soldiers who are fit and able." Merlin considered this, and remembered the druid tribes living in the forest knowing he could contact them he factored them in. Making sure his words wouldn't give away just who exactly they were. Uther couldn't know his kingdom allowed magic. He would also have to consider the force of wyrvens he could command.

"There are some people who aren't part of any specific kingdom, but will fight for our cause. They would probably give us an additional 50 that can fight, and maybe 20 of their best healer. They are very skilled in that area. And I know Camelot's knights are some of the finest, your soldiers too." Merlin stopped and seemed to be doing the math in his head. "Unwin has 100 sorcerers, so if you can send at 1000 men…"

"It sound like you don't have many people at all, are you sure 1000 is enough?"

"Believe me, it will be enough." Uther stared at Merlin, considering this. He wasn't asking for many men to be sent with them. He wondered if this was even a wise choice on Merlin's part, asking for so few. It really would be cutting it close given the information he had. But Merlin seemed so sure, and his brother seemed to agree with him. Was there something else they knew of that they hadn't mentioned? He decided to leave it alone, remembering the outburst from yesterday.

"Very well then. 1000 men it is." They smiled and stood up shaking hands.

**Well then I hope you liked it. Not my best work, but oh well. **

**I want to say thanks to everyone who has been reviewing! And I won't do this often, but it would be really cool if we could hit 50 reviews with this one. We're only 8 away so yeah, that's what I want as a present this year. So just review if you can, you can tell me how I'm doing, or put in some ideas, ask questions, whatever fits your fancy. So with that…**

**Happy Holidays everyone! **


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone I'm back! I got this first chapter finished and it took forever to get it right so my second chapter isn't ready just yet. But hopefully I'll have it up later today! Enjoy!**

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It was about an hour or so after he had been in the meeting with Merlin, and Warrick, and Arthur was now watching Ileana and Wymer fight on the training field. Wymer was fighting with his quarterstaff and Ileana was simply dodging the moves. He watched as Ileana got close enough to Wymer that the staff became useless and she grabbed his arm and twisted until he was force to drop the staff. To Arthur's shock she suddenly let go and jumped back gracefully. It was then that he noticed Wymer holding his dagger, which he had just thrust towards her. She pulled out her katana and the sound of steel hitting steel rang in the air.

"Enjoying the show?"

Arthur whipped his head around to come face to face with Merlin. "What?"

"Well I assume you were watching them fight? Unless you were watching one of the _fighters_?" Merlin smiled.

"Ah… no, I- I was watching the fight. They are very skilled." Merlin smirked as Arthur stuttered.

"Yes, they are, but they can still improve."

"You think? I mean they are _really_ good fighters." Arthur looked back at the two knights who were now fighting hand-to-hand. Ileana now seemed to have control of the fight. He realized she was in her own element now. "I've never seen knights that fight like that. It's a completely different style."

"Yes, but there's always room to improve."

Arthur scoffed, "Sure there is." Merlin raised his eyebrows.

"Are you saying you're perfect at fighting, and that there is nothing more you need to learn?"

"I'm not the best knight in the five kingdoms for nothing." Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur's oversized ego.

"The five kingdoms don't include Snowdonia and the rest of us small kingdoms."

"I could beat any of you any day Merlin."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Arthur studied Merlin carefully noting he was now in chainmail, and had two knives strapped to his arms. He also had another pair strapped to his waist. He motioned to them.

"What's with all the knives?"

"Two for throwing. Two for fighting." Arthur laughed.

"Are you sure you should be carrying them all? They are very sharp. We wouldn't want you to trip and stab yourself. You wouldn't even be able to use them."

"Arthur, you haven't seen me fight before. I mean _really_ fight. I'm much better than you think."

"Really? Well I could take you apart with one blow." Merlin smiled.

"And I could take you apart with less than that." Arthur smiled too, remembering their meeting.

"Are you sure? I don't think you can."

"Well then why don't we solve this problem. You vs. Me; your sword against my knives."

"I don't think that's fair Merlin; sword vs. knives. You wouldn't stand a chance."

"What's this? Are you going to turn down a fight? What, do you think you will lose?"

"No! I just know when a fight is completely pointless… But if you insist." Merlin smiled even larger. Arthur smiled and got into his ready position as Merlin put on leather gloves and took a deep breath. He held the knives folded in against his forearms, knees slightly bent and body seemingly relaxed as he breathed deeply.

Merlin's eyes met Arthur's, shining with mischievousness. He smiled and said. "You first."

Arthur smirked, deciding to go easy on him, and lunged forward then lifted his sword and cut down towards Merlin's chest. Merlin brought one knife up, flipping it out slightly, catching the sword with it. He brought his other knife up, flipped it to switch his grip so it pointed out towards Arthur. He looked him in the eyes.

"I know you can do better Arthur. Don't go taking it easy on me." His voice was stern, and he stepped away, causing Arthur to slightly stumble. Arthur had certainly not expected Merlin to be able to block him. He realized that Merlin really had been holding out on him during training sessions, and decided to see how good he really was. He stepped back and regained once again took up his ready position.

He and Merlin began to circle each other, as Arthur sized him up; reevaluating him.

Arthur suddenly rushed forwards. He thrust his sword at Merlin, but he dodged easily. They continued like this for a while, Arthur trying to hit Merlin, and Merlin dodging or blocking. Eventually Arthur began to get annoyed by Merlin's game of dodge-the-sword. He brought his sword down towards Merlin's head- much like during their first training session together.

Merlin brought up both knives catching the sword between the two. He held the sword above his face and looked back to Arthur.

"Come on Arthur! I thought you said you could take me apart in one blow!" He pushed back with his knives and step backwards releasing the sword. This pushed Arthur back as well.

"Well if that's how it's going to be…" Arthur mumbled under his breath. Merlin hadn't even taken the offensive yet, and he was still making Arthur look like a fool. The other knights had gathered around to watch.

He was too lost in his thoughts however, that he almost missed Merlin coming at him. Steel met steel as Merlin moved his knives in a complex pattern. Arthur brought the sword up to block the knives as best he could, but Merlin was moving too fast for him.

One of the knives went to his left and he moved to block it, but missed the second knife moving for his now open right side.

Merlin now held one knife fighting for dominance against Arthur's sword, and tapped Arthur's right side with the other. "Don't leave yourself so open."

Arthur raised his eyebrows, was Merlin giving him advice? He felt a kick to his stomach and found himself on the ground with Merlin kneeling over him, holding a knife to his neck. "Don't get distracted either. Learn to ignore your opponent's jibes and taunts." He sheathed his knives and helped Arthur up.

"See Arthur? Nobody is perfect. Everyone can always improve themselves."

Arthur looked at the knights around them. "Right." He mumbled almost too soft for Merlin to hear.

"Oh don't be a sour puss Arthur. My fighting style is rather different than what you've fought against. Given time you could easily learn to beat me, I'm sure. I'm not perfect either." Ileana and Wymer came over, and for the first time Arthur heard the other knight speak.

"Merlin you are always too modest. He may need to learn to ignore taunts and jibes, but _you_ need to learn how to take credit when it is due. I believe you have gotten better at fighting since we last met my king." Merlin scowled at the usage of his title.

"Well I have been practicing. And fighting off all those people trying to kill this dollop head-" he nodded to Arthur "probably helped hone my skills as well."

"Then I'm sure you have become more skilled with your gift as well." Merlin paled.

"_Don't mention that around Arthur! He may be oblivious most of the time, but that doesn't mean he won't figure it out!"_ If Wymer was surprised by the voice in his head, he didn't show it. He remained still and looked from Merlin to Arthur and back again. He walked over to Merlin and whispered in his ear.

"He will find out soon enough Merlin. The time of the once and future king draws near. But I will not tell him unless you wish it." He walked away, and Merlin watched him go.

Merlin remembered Wymer always seemed to know more about what was going on. Merlin often thought that perhaps the knight had once been a druid, though he didn't have the markings, and he most certainly wasn't the type of person, who would be content living how the druid had. But then how would he know about the once and future king? He hadn't told anyone about that except for his brother, and Warrick swore he wouldn't tell anyone. The knight had always been a mystery to him.

Merlin looked back to Arthur who was now staring at Merlin, as if trying to find something. "What does he mean by your gift?" Arthur glanced to Ileana, who was now walking away to where Warrick had just entered the training field. "She told me you had a way with words, but I don't understand that."

Merlin chewed his lip, trying to come up with something. He realized that Arthur was becoming much more curious, and when Arthur wanted to find something he knew he notice every little detail. He needed to tell Arthur about his magic, but he couldn't yet. "I- I have a way of… weaving words… to make their meaning mean something new." Merlin hoped that was vague enough that Arthur wouldn't figure it out.

Arthur looked deep into Merlin's eyes, trying to find any sign of a lie, but all he found was truth, but also something else. He was guarded. Merlin was still hiding something from him, and it hurt that he didn't trust him. "You know you can tell me anything right Merlin? We- we're friends." He swallowed.

"Arthur of course I know that! I trust you with my life." Oh how Arthur wished he could believe that. He wanted to scream and shout at Merlin. If he trusted him with his life, then why wouldn't Merlin tell him the whole truth?

Merlin noticed Arthur seemed hurt. He figure Arthur must have realized he was hiding something. Damn that prat for becoming observant at a time like this.

"Arthur, I _do_ trust you. And I would tell you anything you wanted to know. But there are some things that are best left untold until the time and place is right. I want to tell you my secret so badly. You have no idea how much. But… I can't yet. Not because I don't trust you, but because it can still bring you to harm if you knew. Unwin isn't the only one looking for me, and this secret… it's bigger than anything I have ever told you. But I will tell you it… later. And probably very soon, but I can't… not yet."

Arthur stared at him. He saw a longing, a wanting, but he also saw pained eyes for having to keep this secret. He realized that Merlin really wanted to say something, but something was holding him back. He accepted that he wouldn't find out Merlin's secret today, but that didn't mean he wouldn't keep looking. His thoughts however were interrupted when a falcon came out of nowhere and landed on Merlin's shoulder.

Merlin stretched out his arm and the bird hopped down it until he was clinging to Merlin's forearm. Arthur watched as Merlin plucked a letter from a leather harness like contraption on the birds back, and read it. Merlin stiffened and looked up with wide, frightened eyes. "This isn't good."

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**I would also like to thank everyone for reviewing and helping e reach 50 reviews. It really was a great thing to come home and see. **


	13. Chapter 12

**And as promised here is the next chapter all inn one day! Yay! Enjoy the story.**

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Arthur's brows furrowed in confusion as Merlin suddenly ran past him towards Warrick and Ileana. He turned around and called after him, but Merlin was already dragging the other two into the castle. Arthur ran after them. He followed them to Gaius' chambers where Merlin shut and locked the door before he could enter.

"Merlin! What are you doing?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" Gaius clutched his chest.

"Sorry Gaius, but Níl just brought me a message, and it is not good. Not good at all. This is going to change everything!"

"Merlin, what is it. What happened?"

"Morgause and Morgana happened!"

Warrick and Ileana gasped. Merlin had told them about the witches.

"Merlin what do you mean? Morgause only took Morgana away a the day before you left. And she was poisoned. What could they have done in two days past a week to warrant this reaction from you?"

"They've teamed up with Unwin. They must have found out I was Snowdonia's prince and went to him. They'll make this much harder. I barely managed to stop them the last time, I don't know if I can do it again, especially while fighting the rest of Unwin's army."

The three people in the room were pale. Merlin was right. This was a problem, a big problem. Gaius spoke up, "If Morgana is with them, when Arthur meets her he will be inclined to trust her. She could readily penetrate whatever defenses you put up."

"I know. I need to tell Arthur, but I don't know if he'll believe me. After all he loves Morgana as a sister. I hardly think he will just believe me if I told him that Morgana was actually a seer with strong magic." They fell into silence, unaware of their eavesdropper who now stood outside the door, frozen in shock. AS the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall and reached Arthur's ears, he quickly got up and ran to his chambers to think.

In the physician's chambers Ileana looked up, having been the only one to hear the scuffle of feet outside the door. She looked to Merlin. "You might not have to worry about him believing as much as you think."

"What do you mean Ileana?" She smiled a knowing smile, "I mean exactly what I say… You should go tell him the truth. Maybe not about _your_ gifts just yet, but he needs to know about Morgana, and what the repercussions are, and you need to be the one to tell him."

"He won't believe me."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try Merlin. He's your _friend_. You trust him, and he trusts you."

Merlin swallowed. "Earlier he asked me if I trusted him. He knows I'm hiding a secret. In reality it is so much more. You're right. He would never forgive me if I didn't tell him now or at least try to." Merlin got up and walked to the door unlocking it. He looked back and his family smiled encouragingly to him. He smiled back and set off to find Arthur.

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Arthur was staring out his window overlooking the city. He couldn't understand how Morgana could have magic, and how did Merlin know in the first place. And if it was true, why hadn't he said something. He pondered this for a while, until a knock sounded on his door. He stayed quiet for a minute before softly calling "enter." Merlin walked in.

"Arthur. I- I need to tell you something." Arthur turned around to look at Merlin, but he didn't acknowledge him anymore than that. "You uh… probably won't believe me. But…

"Remember when Morgana's curtains caught fire?" Arthur remained silent, Merlin assumed it had to do with their talk about trust earlier. He swallowed. "Well it wasn't an accident. Well it was just… not in the most conventional terms… You know that Morgana used to have nightmares, and I'm sure you realize they usually came true… Morgana was a seer. She had visions of the future… and well… she also had dormant magic. She was born with it, and she was scared. She didn't know what to do.

"She never was kidnapped by the druids, I took her there." Arthur's eye widened slightly. "I thought, maybe they could help her to learn to control it, but it didn't go as planned. When you attacked she became more confused, and untrusting. Her mind began to be filled with doubts…

"She later met up with a druid boy, and the warlock Alvarr. She was the one that stole The Crystal of Neahtid. I was… shocked when I found out. I had hoped she wouldn't turn against us, though I suppose… I knew it would happen. She later allied herself with Morgause, who is actually her half-sister. Morgause gave her comfort, and helped her to control her magic. And she trusted her.

"When the Knights of Medhir attacked… Morgana wasn't awake because of a tonic. She was awake because she was the vessel for the spell keeping everyone asleep… I learned that she could only have been made the vessel if she had agreed willingly." Merlin looked to Arthur, looking for a reaction. His face remained emotionless. He looked to the floor. "I- I found out that the only way to end the spell was to destroy the vessel. It meant I would have to kill Morgana, and it was the hardest choice I have ever had to make. It came down to her or all of Camelot, and I couldn't..." He looked up again, and Arthur saw tears in his eyes.

"I poisoned her." Merlin closed his eyes. And when he opened them the tears were gone. "And then Morgause came, and I bargained with her. I told her the poison I used in exchange for her breaking the sleeping spell, and calling off the knights of Medhir. She took Morgana away and healed her." Arthur remained staring at him, and Merlin decided to get the rest out. "She's not the person we used to know Arthur. She's changed, Morgause made sure of that. Please, please believe me Arthur. I'm begging you. Please believe me." Arthur continued to stare at him emotionless, Merlin sighed beginning to turn away. But then Arthur called out to him.

"Merlin. I believe you." Merlin turned around to see the emotionless prince gone and his friend back.

"You do?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes Merlin. And I thank you for telling me. This is… hard to hear. She was a sister to me Merlin, and magic corrupted her." Merlin flinched.

"It wasn't magic that corrupted her Arthur… It was fear. Fear of being burned, of what could happen to her. And so she turned to Morgause because there was no one else. Her fear made her weak Arthur, and because of it she believed Morgause when she told her there was no other way. That is what corrupted her. Not magic." Arthur stared at him.

"You truly think that don't you. You do not believe all magic is evil." Merlin knew he had to get this out now. He took a deep breath.

"I spent a year in Ealdor Arthur, and that's in Cenred's kingdom. Magic is not outlawed there, though it is still feared. I however was able to see the good that magic can do. It is no more evil than any other weapon. It can be used for good, to heal, to protect… much like any other weapon, weather it is used for good or bad depends solely on its wielder." Arthur's brows furrowed in thought.

"But Arthur, that is not why I told you about Morgana. Not only do I feel it right to tell you, but she has joined with Unwin. Unwin will now know I'm coming and he will be ready for us. Before, going into this, I was certain of victory, but now… I need _your_ help more than ever Arthur. You are my friend, and I could never do this without you. I just… I need you to understand that this is going to be harder for both of us. Unwin will try to kill me before we can reach the mountains. And he will be willing to do anything to be sure that he does.

"Arthur, I need you to trust me. I need to tell you… remember out conversation earlier Arthur? I'm going to tell you. Not right now, there isn't time. Morgana found out about me somehow, which means that someone told her. She doesn't know about my gift yet, and that's what I'm counting on. So long as she is unaware, we will have an advantage. So I will tell you Arthur, as soon as I know there is no spies about. But until then, I need you to trust me to make the right decisions. Can you do that? For me?" Merlin's eyes were begging and hopeful.

Arthur swallowed; he had a feeling that whatever it was Merlin had to say, it was going to change everything. Merlin was trusting him with this, and the only thing he could do was to return it. "Of course my friend. I will always trust you." He missed the guilt that flickered through Merlin's eyes.

"We need to prepare to leave. We need to be moving by tomorrow if we're going to do this." Arthur nodded, and Merlin gave a small smile. "Well then, I should, uh… go send word to my knights."

"And I should go inform my father that two powerful witches have joined with Unwin, and we will need to be leaving sooner than expected." Merlin realized that Arthur was planning on keeping any details about Morgana and Morgause secret. He turned to leave but turned back at the last second.

"Thank you Arthur." And he left.

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Merlin was walking back to the guest chamber's he was staying in. He had just finished eating dinner with Uther, Arthur, and his brother. Then he saw the Pendragon crest hanging on a wall, and he remembered something. He froze as he realized what an idiot he had been. He rushed back to his old room in Gaius' chambers and grabbed the sword he had hidden. He ran down to the dungeons, and snuck past the guards. He grabbed a torch and hurried down the steps and into the cave.

"Kilgharrah!" The dragon flew down and landed on the rock."

"If it is not the young warlock. I was beginning to believe you had forgotten about me and betrayed your oath."

"Never. I just… Snowdonia's in danger, and Unwin has returned. I got a message the night I was going to free you, and it just slipped my mind I'm sorry."

"I understand Merlin. I know about Snowdonia's falling."

"You do?"

"You and I are bonded Merlin. I felt you pain at having lost your brother. I am truly sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. But now I must free you. You have helped me so many times… I have only one question though."

"What is it young one?"

"Morgana and Morgause have joined with Unwin, and I fear I will not be able to defeat them. Will you fight alongside me and my knights to rescue my kingdom? I will not force you, it is your choice."

"Merlin, the mountains of Snowdonia have long been home to many dragons. And your family was once the protector of the caves hidden there. It would be an honor to help you to reclaim your kingdom."

"Thank you, old friend." And with that Merlin walked down to where the chain held the dragon, and cut through it with the sword from a knight of Medhir, freeing him. He looked up and smiled as Kilgharrah flew out of the cave. It warmed his heart to see the last dragon free once more. He walked back up, and left the cave, to go back to his guest chambers.

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**Alright then. So I decided that Merlin and Kilgharrah are more like friends right now because Merlin was already a dragonlord, and grew up with his father there to teach him what it meant to be a dragonlord, and everything. So they got along better. I don't know if I really liked how the conversation between Arthur and Merlin about Morgana went. But I needed it in there so... Anyways please review, and I hope you liked the chapter. And have a Happy New Year!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone, sorry about getting this in a bit later this time. I would have had it ready for this morning, but my school pounded me with homework, both over vacation and tonight. Sorry!**

**But here it is, so enjoy!**

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Arthur was eating breakfast with his father. They were both silent, until Uther's voice broke the silence.

"So you shall be leaving today then?"

"Yes. Both I and Merlin have agreed to leave by midday at the latest." Uther nodded.

"You and him are friends are you not?" Arthur nearly choked on his water. He didn't realize that their friendship was so obvious. And he wondered why his father would bring it up anyways. When he answered it was with caution with his words.

"Yes. We have grown closer over the years."

"And you trust him?"

"… The same as he trusts me." Arthur fought to keep from fidgeting.

"You believe him to be a good man." It was more of a statement than a question but still Arthur answered.

"He cares for people, whether they be of his own, or of another kingdom. He tries to prevent violence, and from what I can tell he normally succeeds. He is brave enough to stand up, and protect another, even if he knows what the end result might be. So yes, I know him to be a good man."

Uther studied his son. He never agreed with allowing such trust to build. The last time he did, it had cost him the love of his life. Of course, now he had his son, but it wasn't the same. Uther hoped that Arthur friendship with Merlin was true and not one-sided. Because if it was one-sided, than there was a great chance that Arthur trust could be used against him. But Uther doubted this, after-all he had seen with his own eyes, the way they treated each other. Looked at each other.

Arthur looked out the window. "If you'll excuse me father, I need to prepare to leave." Uther nodded.

"Of course."

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

It was nearing midday, and Merlin was standing in the courtyard with Warrick, Ileana, Wymer, and a lot of Camelot's finest knights and soldiers. Warrick looked over to Merlin.

"Soo… I was exploring the castle last night." Merlin didn't looked at him, he seemed distracted.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And you know what I saw?" He paused looking directly at Merlin, and whispered so only he could hear, "I believe I saw a great, big dragon. Flew right out of nowhere, made a circle and flew straight out into the forest." Merlin's head snapped up and he stared intensely right into Warrick's eyes.

"…Yes… I suppose you would have. Considering I freed him last night… I was going to surprise you… I guess not anymore. Kilgharrah has agreed to help fight for us. It will certainly help to turn the tides now that the witches have joined Unwin."

"If only father were here, Raymond too. How both of them would have been so happy to see him." Merlin smiled at his younger brother. He decided he could lighten the mood.

"Remember the stories father used to tell us. That the dragons would come down from the mountains when we were in need, and give the people the knowledge they needed to survive… but they would need to solve their riddles first."

"Yeah, I remember. Father said it was their repayment for when we protected them, though he always said they could have done it themselves." Warrick paused, trying to remember something, "I remember he told me once about how once a year, all the sons of the dragonlords would enter the caves, and spend two nights surrounded by the dragons. They would learn more than any thought possible, and when they came down, they would be new men. But for the better."

"Yes. I remember that story." Merlin smiled. His youngest brother had always loved their father's stories of the dragons. He had wanted to be a dragonlord himself, but as his father had told him, only the first born son could gain that title. Of course Raymond had hoped he too might inherit it since they were un-identical twins, but alas, Merlin was oldest by mere minutes. He was about to tell another tale he remembered when Arthur strolled up.

"Merlin. Warrick."

"Arthur." Both brothers responded at the same time. They glanced at each other before bursting out laughing. Arthur just stood there confused. Between gasps Merlin managed to get words through to his brother.

"I… used to… only… do that with… R-Raymond! I… never thought… that would happen… again." The two boys soon managed to control themselves. "Sorry Arthur, it's just… well. Anyways, I suppose your men are ready?"

"Yes. And you?"

"We are, and the rest of my knights that came with us are where I last left them."

"And where might that be?"

"… The Valley of the Fallen Kings."

"There? They made camp there? It's one of the most bandit infested places I know! And it's completely out of the way!"

"I can agree with the bandits there. However it is not that much out of the way if you go through Odin's lands. Which, before you say anything, I know we aren't going through. Not with this many forces. That would be seen as an act of war. However with about twenty knights, and a prince from a small kingdom. Not as much. We have an… agreement with Odin. He ignores us, we ignore him.

Arthur just stared at Merlin. He was about to point out that the knights could have just met up with them, but Merlin beat him to it. "Remember our talk last night Arthur? You said you'd trust me to make the right decisions. So trust me. I have my reasons as to why we are going to them. Let's go."

"Fine." Arthur mounted his horse, and the rest of his men followed suit. Merlin mounted next, followed by his brother, and hi two knights. As they rode out the towns people stared. Eyes widening as they saw Merlin riding in the lead, dressed as a king.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Once they reached the entrance to the Valley of the Fallen Kings, Merlin called for a halt. As he did only a week and a half ago, he whistled and held out his arm. Níl flew out and landed on his forearm, this time however the bird came out from behind a bush, and was followed shortly after by a girl with auburn hair and deep green eyes that seemed to peer into your very soul. She had a bolas hanging from her waist, and a bow and quiver of arrows on her back. Her voice was smooth like honey as she spoke, "My king."

Arthur looked to his friend, curious as to who exactly this girl was. Merlin spoke. "Maurelle, you know I do not like titles." She smiled.

"Of course not." She glance to Arthur. He shivered under her intense gaze. Eventually, pleased with whatever she found during her silent evaluation, she turned back to Merlin. "Jarret sent me to ensure your safe passage to the camp." Although she seemed to try and keep a straight face, her voice betrayed her, as it was obvious by her tone she thought the idea ridiculous.

Both Merlin and Warrick chuckled, and Merlin responded, "It would be Jarret that would send someone to protect me when I already had a thousand men behind me. Not that I need it. But enough talk then. We need to get to the others."

"Follow me then. I saw some bandits further down, I should be able to steer you clear of them… But we should try to keep quiet." Maurelle glanced at the long line of men behind them and mumbled so only Merlin and Arthur could hear, "If that's even possible."

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

When they finally arrived at the camp, Arthur's eyes widened in surprise. Whatever he had expected to find, it hadn't been this. All of Merlin's knights, every single one, were helping to clear up the camp. Some were finishing skinning and salting cut meat, and making travel rations, which were being loaded up onto horses or handed out to other knights. Some were clearing away any signs of fires they had made. A few were tending to the horses, and others were travelling to and from a nearby river filling what appeared to be two water skins for every one man. There were maybe three people patrolling around the clearing, and not only that, but everyone was completely silent. Nobody spoke, or even stepped on a twig. They were communicating using eye contact and hand signals, but there wasn't even any sound. Arthur hadn't even known they were there until they had broken through the brush.

He looked to Merlin who hopped off his horse, landing quietly. Arthur wondered how he could manage to be so silent now, but not whilst hunting. He decided to pester Merlin about it later.

Merlin and Maurelle split up, and began to go to the people who were finishing the packing. Arthur watched as Merlin made a motion to one knight, who swiftly nodded and went to another, repeating the motion.

In only one minute the knights had silently, finished what they were doing, and had mounted their horses. Merlin hopped on his and whispered something to the falcon who was now sitting on his shoulder. Arthur watched, intrigued as the bird flew a few feet and stopped. Merlin motioned everyone to move forward. And once again they were off, heading toward the mountains that bordered Snowdonia.

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**So we're getting closer to the long awaited battle. Woohoo! And Arthur's becoming more observant, it's a miracle. But enough of my incessant ramblings, I want to know what you think! So don't forget to review! **

**And thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 14

After having travelled out of the Valley of the Fallen Kings, and skirting around Odin's kingdom (a journey that took about four days), Merlin, Arthur, and the thousand men behind them were almost to the mountains bordering Snowdonia. They could now see the large mountains, some of which were so high that their peeks were blocked from view, by the clouds. It would be getting dark in about an hour do the company stopped to begin setting up.

While Arthur went off with his men, Merlin went to talk with his most trusted. This was a group of five other people, Warrick, Ileana, Maurelle, Wymer and Jarret. Merlin waved them over to the side, and began to speak.

"We're almost to the mountains, close enough to hear the wyrvens calls tonight. Can you make sure to get the word out to Camelot's knights not to worry about them?" The five nodded their heads. "Thank you." Merlin took a breath.

"I plan on telling Arthur tonight, and I doubt that he's going to be fully accepting. I don't know what I can expect from him. It may be he yells a bit and that's all, but… he could try to attack me as well. I don't know, but if he does, I don't want any of you or the other getting in it. This is between me and Arthur, I need him to accept this by himself; no help from anyone else. OK?" They were silent for a moment. Jarret spoke up.

"Merlin, if he does attack you… he will be assaulting our king. An act such as th-"

"Enough Jarret. I know what it would be seen as. That's exactly why I'm telling you. I need you to make sure that none or _our_ knights get involved." Maurelle spoke up this time.

"And what if Arthur's men join in? Do you expect us to stand by and let it happen?" Merlin looked pensive, and Warrick cut in.

"She has a point. If they were to see the prince fighting you… We may be out of Camelot's borders but they may still try to kill you if they saw you use magic." Merlin sighed.

"I realize. I just… Arthur's my friend, and I want- need him, too accept me himself. If his own knights get involved, I'll need you to try and keep them back, but don't hurt them." Warrick looked hard at his brother for a moment longer, before giving in.

"Alright." Merlin smiled, but Jarret looked like he was about to protest. Both of the royal brothers gave him a meaningful look, and he held his tongue. Merlin looked back at the mountains.

"Since that's settled, I'm going to take a walk. I need to talk with Kilgharrah, and I need to do it tonight. I'm leaving you all to make sure nobody gets in a fight with Arthur or his men. I should be back soon enough." Warrick seemed disappointed, so Merlin spoke up. "Don't worry brother; you'll get to meet him later." Warrick nodded and the small group went their separate ways.

Wymer watched, smiling to himself. Yes, the time of The Once and Future king was almost upon them.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

It was about twenty minutes later that Merlin stood up at the sound of wings beating the air. The Great Dragon landed in front of him. Merlin smiled. "Kilgharrah, how does it feel to be able to fly free once more?" The dragon to smiled.

"It is a wonderful thing. And I thank you for it."

"You are welcome my friend. I wish only that my father could be here to see it himself." Merlin allowed for a single tear to fall at his memory, and Kilgharrah bowed his head. Merlin realized he would still have to talk to Arthur, and decided to get to the point of their meeting. "Kilgharrah, I have a favor to ask of you, if that is alright?"

"Of course young warlock."

"I know there are many druid clans in the area, I wonder if perhaps you might help me locate them. I believe I will need their skills and knowledge in the battle ahead."

"I am not a horse Merlin, but your reasons are justified, I will allow it this time."

"Thank you."

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

It was about 2 hours later that Merlin walked back into camp, and was immediately confronted by Warrick.

"Where have you been Merlin! You said you just had to talk with Kilgharrah, and that you wouldn't be long. It's been two hours!" Merlin just looked at him and smiled.

"Sorry Warrick, it was a bit more than a talk. Kilgharrah helped me to locate the druid clans in the area so I could ask for assistance. They were more than willing to help. They didn't have as many fighters as I thought (only ten), but they will send maybe 30 who are good at setting up defensive spells on armor, and magical barriers that can repel some spells. They will also send 25 healers, which is better than I expected, and most of them can use magic to heal. Many of them are actually very powerful and are well skilled in the art."

Warrick sighed, but gave a small smile. "All right, I'll give you that one. If you got that many people from the druids, I can forgive you for being gone so long."

"You don't have to worry about me Warrick. I can take care of myself, more now so than before. Gaius and Kilgharrah helped me with that." Their eyes met.

"You've been learning new spells, whilst in Camelot?" Warrick spoke very softly so that only Merlin could hear.

"Yes. I have, and right now I'm going to go throw myself to the lion."

"I wish you luck with that brother. I'll tell the knights you're going to tell him now, and to make sure not to let anyone intervene."

"Thank you Warrick." The younger of the two smiled and walked back to their side of the camp. Merlin turned the other way and began to walk towards the sea of red cloaks in front of him. It turned out to be much harder to find Arthur than he had anticipated. Eventually a familiar voice called out behind him. "Merlin?" He turned around and smiled broadly.

"Leon! You wouldn't happen to know where Arthur is would you? I need to talk with him."

"Uh… yeah, he's over there." Leon pointed to the far side of the camp, where a head of familiar blonde hair stuck out.

"Thanks Leon!" Merlin called over his shoulder as he hurried away. He was running out of time before everyone would begin to retire. And although he was nervous, beyond nervous, Merlin knew he had to do this, or he might not get another chance.

He waited until he got Arthur's attention, then waved him over. Arthur looked confusedly at him. "What-"

Merlin interrupted him. "No time. Follow me." He walked a little ways away from the camp, and more towards the center between his side and Arthur's. It was far enough that no one could hear them, but _every_ one could see them. Merlin sat down, whilst Arthur just raised his eyebrows. He sighed.

"Arthur, you're going to want to sit down for this. Trust me. I have to tell you something." Merlin looked to Arthur pointedly, and he seemed to get the hint. His eyes widened and he sat down. "This is going to be hard for you to hear Arthur. And you aren't going to like it. So I'll start from the beginning. One thing at a time." He took a breath, and Arthur nodded, realizing that he was going to learn a lot about his friend today.

"My father was once very well known amongst all the kingdoms, as well as are city. In fact, my father had made many trips to Camelot itself to help _your_ father. I don't know why Uther didn't remember, but perhaps it was because in his quest to erase all evidence of the events, he also managed to erase it from his mind as well.

"You see Arthur, my father's name was Balinor Ambrosias, and he wasn't just a king, nor was he just a proud parent. He was also a magic user, and a dragonlord." Arthur's eyes widened.

"M-magic. And a dragonlord. Merlin, what are you trying to tell me? I know you said that you don't believe magic to be evil, I understand that. But…"

"Arthur, the thing about dragonlord's, is that their powers pass on from father to son, through death. Now of course, it only passes on to the eldest son-"

"So your brother, Raymond held the power? Is that what you're telling me?" Arthur seemed very confused. "I mean, he was older than you, otherwise you would have been crowned king before him."

"No Arthur. We were twins, and I didn't desire the crown so I let him have it, but I was older by mere minutes. When my father died… his powers passed on to me." Merlin grew silent to wait for Arthur's reaction. He hoped that this first part of his magic Arthur would accept easily. He was sure Arthur would understand that this he had no chose in.

"You… you're a-" Arthur swallowed, "a dragonlord?" Merlin nodded. "So you can control dragon's, speak with them?"

"Yes, it is not just a position, but also a duty. You see it means that the dragons are my kin and any relative of theirs as well; such as the wyrvens. A dragonlord's powers are one of responsibility. I hold the power to speak with the dragons, and they must heed my commands. Though I do try _not_ to order them. In that respect it is much like the power you hold. You could order any servant to do anything, and they would have to do it, so you try to give them the option instead. Do you have a problem with this Arthur, it is very similar to magic in the eyes of your father. You would not be able to tell him of this, and I'm trusting you, as a friend. That won't change no matter your choice."

"I- I don't think any differently of you Merlin. It isn't something you had a choice in, and it's not magic. I'm not exactly happy about it. But I'm glad you told me. I mean it's not like there are any dragons left, and I couldn't see you using that power for bad anyways."

"Well that's not exactly true. No! No not about the using my powers for bad! I meant about the dragons being all dead."

Arthur's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

"Well, um, you see… Therewasadragonbeneathcamelo tandireleasedhim!" Arthur raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

"Sorry Merlin, didn't catch that. Do you mind speaking in English please?" Merlin looked straight ahead at the ground, and repeated what he said.

"There was a dragon beneath Camelot, and I released him." Arthur froze, and Merlin continued, "He had been trapped there for 20 years by your father, chained in a cave below the dungeons. He called to me, and told me some… things and well, before we left, I released him."

"You did What!"

"I released him?" Arthur glared daggers at him, "But it's alright because he's not planning on hurting anyone! He's just happy to fly free once more! And he's agreed to help us fight Unwin, so it's all good. Right?"

"_Merlin."_ Arthur growled.

"And it's not that bad, I mean I was going to call upon the wyrvens to fight to. I probably won't have to do much to convince them after all. Just tell them that Unwin is trying to take Snowdonia and poses a threat to them as well, and they'll get all defensive. I mean they're not very smart, but-"

"_Merlin!"_

"Yes?"

"Shut up!" They stayed silent for a few minutes until Arthur spoke again. "There isn't anything I can do about this now. So I have only one question for you Merlin. And you better think about this before answering. Think very carefully… Is there anything _else_ I should know." Merlin looked at him, and even with the darkening sky, Arthur could see Merlin's eyes clearly. Eyes that showed guilt, and fear, sorrow, hope, and… wisdom far beyond his years, happiness, and… truth, resignation.

"Arthur. I-I am magic."

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**Ooh a reveal! Sorry about the cliffy but it just gave me the perfect place to stop. Tell me what you think so far, I'm not very good at reveals, so any suggestions for the next chapter would be nice! Please Review!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Well this one is certainly much longer than the rest of my chapters, and I got it out a bit earlier than I have been. Yay! … No your still angry about the cliffy aren't you? … I'll just stop talking now and let you get on with story yeah? Here you go. Enjoy!**

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Arthur blinked. His face shocked, and filled with disbelief, but as Merlin appeared to be wholeheartedly serious, Arthur's eyes began to be filled with pain, hurt, anger, and most dominating of all, _betrayal._ He didn't have his sword, so he settled for discreetly pulling a dagger out of his boot. Merlin looked at the ground.

Arthur, not seeing his friend anymore, but a stranger who had deceived him, and committed the worst of crimes, lunged at Merlin with the dagger. Merlin having sensed the approaching danger, quickly slowed time and move out of the way. Arthur snarled and quickly came after him again, tensing as Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and his dagger suddenly burned red hot. He dropped it and stared at Merlin. Snarling at him, "You dare use magic on me!" He tackled Merlin, and they began to grapple on the ground as Merlin tried to calm the prince.

"Please Arthur! Let me explain. I only use- ugh" Arthur punched Merlin in the stomach before socking him in the jaw. By now the knights on either side of the camp had noticed the fight.

Camelot's knights ran forward, swords drawn as they saw the tell-tale flash of gold that meant sorcery, but were met with Snowdonia's knights, who having expected this, had reached them first and formed a blockade between them and the prince and king. Warrick stood defensively in the front of the line. "Should anyone who tries to intervene, you shall have to fight through our knights! We are under orders not to harm you, but we will not allow you to pass!"

The knights of Camelot stared disbelievingly at Snowdonia's prince and knights. A few brave souls stepped forward to challenge the blockade, and Ileana stepped forward, and cracked her knuckles. She looked to Warrick, and spoke nonchalantly, "I'll take care of them." Warrick only nodded.

At this point Arthur now pinned Merlin to the ground, and spoke harshly to him. "You lied to me; all these years. What was it all for? To get me out here away from the castle? Weaken Camelot, and then attack? Use me as a tool for blackmail!? What about all those times we were together?! Was our friendship just a joke to you? Did you just laugh in that pretty little head of yours as I risked my life for you all those times?!"

Merlin stared with wide eyes. He hadn't expected Arthur to attack him. Well before yes, but he was lured into a false sense of security when Arthur had accepted him be a dragonlord. Yes, of course he should have seen this coming, when Arthur started to slowly become, what he thought was simply annoyance, at the information of the Great Dragon's release. Perhaps he should have read the signs more carefully. He stammered a he responded to the prince.

"N-No. You're my friend Arthur! I only used it for good! Helping you and Camelot. _Please_!" Merlin could see the tears that now began to run down Arthur's face. Seeing this as a sign that he was getting through to his friend, Merlin began again. "I-I risked myself so many times for you Arthur. Remember how I became your manservant? And what about Valiant? It wasn't just luck the snakes on his shield came to life when they did. That was me. And the caves with the Afanc? That wind wasn't normal! I summoned it so that the Afanc could be killed. And when Sigan attacked! He offered me all the power I could ever dream of! Told me I could have you kneeling at my feet! But I turned him down, and trapped his soul in the crystal. Let's be honest Arthur, if I had wanted Camelot to fall, I could have just let you kill your father! But no! I told you that magic was evil, even though it tore my heart and soul! And I did it to prevent you from killing the one man you've looked up to all your life!"

Merlin's voice became quiet and sad, "I betrayed the trust of one I once considered a friend to save all of Camelot, and I watched as my love died in my arms, on the shores of Avalon, killed by y- a knight of Camelot. And yet I remained. And I forgave them." Merlin looked up pleadingly into Arthur's eyes. Now both were openly shedding tears. "Please. Let me explain before you pass judgment. My knights will keep anyone from intervening, I ensured that. We have all the time you need." Arthur stared at him. Merlin hoped that Kilgharrah was right, and one half of the coin could not truly hate that which makes it whole.

Meanwhile, Ileana was currently holding one of Camelot's knights to the ground with her foot, and another with their arm twisted behind their back preventing movement. A third lay on the ground, pinned by her sword in his shirt. Too afraid to even think about cutting himself loose. Camelot's knights just stared; none really wanting to face the wrath of the rest of Snowdonia's knights after seeing what one could do… almost effortlessly. No one was even paying attention to the two royals anymore, who were now standing, and talking.

"Why did you learn it?" Arthur asked, and Merlin looked straight at him.

"I didn't have a chose. I was born with it. Supposedly the second I took my first breath every candle, and torch in the city lit up. My parents told me that every person with magic felt a shift. The felt magic rejoice, and were filled with a new hope. According to the druids I was born of the Old Religion; a creature of magic; human, but not human. According to Gaius, I am 'a question that's never been posed before'. Apparently, I don't just have magic; I am the very essence of magic itself. Magic incarnate. Learning spells, that was the only way I could control it."

"I don't believe that. You must be lying. Sorcerers have to choose to learn magic. You aren't just born with something like that. Nobody can be born evil." Merlin winced.

"Magic isn't evil Arthur. My father had magic, anyone will tell you about his generosity. And I have magic. You don't truly believe that I'm evil do you? But you are right. Sorcerers have to choose magic. Learn spells, and spend years learning discipline, and study. But I'm not just a sorcerer, I'm a warlock. Sorcerers, sorceresses; they learn spells. Witches, and Warlocks are born with their power. Of course, their magic normally lays dormant until something brings it about. Morgana was a witch. Her power came about later in her life. Mordred was a warlock… his magic awakened when he was still young. But never have any had it awaken at birth. Warlocks, and witches do not need the use of a simple spell to use their magic."

"You used a spell. So you must be a sorcerer. Yet you say you are born with magic. Explain that to me Merlin." Arthur was dead serious right now. He wasn't going to accept any more lies.

Merlin seemed to think for a minute. Then smiled as he remembered when he asked a similar question once to his tutor. He repeated the familiar words. "Every warlock is a sorcerer Arthur, but not every sorcerer is a warlock." Arthur scowled.

"Giving me riddles then. Fine. I want you to tell me about every time you used magic for good. Prove to me that I can trust you." Merlin looked at him long and hard before continuing.

"The first time I used my magic for the good of someone else that I remember, was when I was but seven. I had just snuck away from my parents for the first time…

_Flashback:_

_ I looked at the tapestry on the wall. It showed a dragon bowing down to a man. I knew what this portrayed. Father had told me and Raymond the stories. It was supposed to be the first dragonlord as he commanded a dragon for the first time. After that nine more followed. Each awakening an ancient power deep within themselves. They were the first dragonlords, and they ended the 20 yr. war between dragons and humans. I moved on to explore more. _

_ It wasn't long before I reached the lower town. It was the first time I had been outside the castle grounds. I was slightly intimidated by all the hustle and bustle of all the people, but I didn't want to go back, so I went forwards. I worked my way through the crowd of people, until something stopped me. I heard a cry of someone in pain, but when I looked around, no one else noticed. I listened and followed the voice, deciding it was telepathic, (was that the word father used?),just like the druids who visited._

_ I soon came to a long alleyway, and I felt that something bad was down the way, but I pushed it off. After all I was a prince, I should be brave. Not that I wasn't scared, no I was, but mother told me that bravery wasn't not being scared. Bravery was when we do something, even when we fear it. So I walked down the alleyway, following the voice._

_ But as soon as stepped completely to the other side, I felt a wave wash over me. A wave of magic, and it wasn't good either. Suddenly I was no longer in the city but in the middle of a forest. A very dark forest, filled with shadows. In front of me was a camp, and in the center was a group of people sat together in a bunch. And each had a collar around their neck, with a chain linking them to one another, and eventually to a big wooden post in the center of them. _

_ I didn't understand what was happening, but I knew it wasn't something good. I could feel my magic raging within me, but I didn't know why. I began to walk forwards trying to get closer, but a man with a sword came out of nowhere. He pointed it at me and sneered. "What do we got here? A little boy. Are you lost? Do you want help?" _

_ I didn't like this man. He had a scar across his eye, and smelled. He smelled like that drink that father, and mother had at feasts, and banquets. He was never allowed to go near it though. Ale, was that what they called it? I didn't know, but I felt like I should say something. "Who are you? Why are those people chained up? Where am I?"_

_ The man chuckled, it was a cold laugh, and it sent shivers down my back. He answered me, his voice rough, and low. "Well boy those there people are chained up, because we need to keep them under control. They like to fight back; don't want to be taken away from those city streets. But we fixed that with those chains. They don't fight after that."_

_ "Why?" _

_ "Because they got nothing left to fight with, once they got no more magic in them. Easy to turn them into slaves." I was about to say something, but suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist, and I cried out at the pain. I didn't understand what was going on, or what the man meant, but my magic reacted. It lashed out at the man, sending him flying back into a tree. I watched him carefully, but he didn't get back up. More men came running from the camp, and suddenly I found the world around me frozen, yet I could still move. _

_ I felt as though I should use this to my advantage, and ran into the camp and began to release the collars on the people's necks with my magic. And once they were free I felt my eyes go gold, and the world move again. _

_The person next to me blinked in surprise, but was soon standing up, along with everyone else I freed. I watched, awed as they used magic to fight the oncoming men. And soon they were all on the ground. I pulled on one of the sorcerers shirts to get their attention. He looked down. "What happened? Are those men… dead." _

_The man seemed surprised that I thought that. Maybe he wasn't expecting a seven year old to know what dying meant. Mother always said, that I sometimes understood things to well. _

_The man's eyes softened and he knelt down speaking gently to me. "No, they are only asleep. They'll wake up soon enough though." I nodded, and smiled. I liked this man. He seemed nice. I realized he was speaking again. "What's your name boy? And how did you end up out here?"_

_I told him, and he looked pale afterwards. "What's wrong?" He looked at me, then out into the forest, before answering._

"_We are many hours from Snowdonia little prince." I stayed where I was as the man got up, and went to talk with the other people. When he came back, another older man followed him. The man spoke. "This is Maven little prince. He's going to take you home, OK?" I smiled and nodded. Maven grabbed my hand, and said something, then we were suddenly in the castle. _

_He told me to follow him, and soon enough my mother and father were hugging me, while Raymond stood next to them. When they broke free, Raymond tackled me, and told me he had been worried, but that I had to tell him everything about my adventure later._

_End flashback:_

Arthur just looked at me as Merlin finished the story. Then he spoke up. "Seven years old, and you rescued a bunch of people from slavers?"

Merlin smiled, "Yep! Although, at the time I didn't really understand what was going on. I just did what I felt was right, and my magic acted on instinct. I still haven't figured out how I ended up at that camp though. I've gone back to that alleyway, time and time again, but nothing happens. Sometimes I wonder if my magic brought me there, just to save those people."

"Well, you were still young then. You could have changed." Merlin looked at Arthur with slight amusement. He knew Arthur didn't really mean it; he just wanted to know more about his past apparently. It was obvious by his tone of voice. So Merlin smiled and told more tales of his childhood.

"Alright, well when I was ten was when Unwin first started to attack us. Not much of anything, just some skirmishes on the borders. But it encouraged more bandits to enter the forest surrounding Snowdonia. They still didn't come to close to the city. I happened to be out on a walk, and went further than usual however. I heard screaming and when I found the source of the noise I was in shock.

"There were a two of little kids crying off to the side, and a man laid bleeding on the ground. He had a wound to his head. Two burly fellows however were pinning down a woman, and it was rather obvious what their intentions were. I yelled to them, trying to distract them. They both got up, looking rather irritated, and came after me. One with a mace, the other with a sword. I managed to dodge them for a while, before knocking out the one with the mace, and disarming the one with the sword. He ran away like a coward into the trees.

"I helped up the woman, careful not to make sudden movements. It was obvious she was a bit traumatized. She went over to her children, and I went to the man on the ground. I figure he was probably her husband, so I tried to heal his injury. Unfortunately, I'm not very good in the art of healing spells. They're very complex, and take a lot of focus, and work to learn to do properly. In the end all I could do was lessen the pain for him, and give him enough energy to wake up and say goodbye to his family.

"Afterwards I brought them back to my father, cheering up the poor kids by doing some magic tricks for them. My father gave the mother money, and offered her a job in the castle." Arthur looked confused, and spoke up.

"Why did he do that? Why did he give them money?" Merlin smiled in memory of his father's love of charity.

"My father felt that it was the right thing to do. The woman was now a widow, with two hungry children. Not only that, he considered the safety of all our citizens his responsibility. If there were bandits that attacked someone, he took the blame upon himself for not having enough patrols to protect the people."

"He sounds very… generous."

"He was. And he didn't care about rank. Nobody called him by his title, except for those he sought clemency for any wrongs they committed. The people respected him, and if they had a problem, they had nothing to fear in going to him for help, or wisdom. After all, he had been a dragonlord, and one of their many attributes was their wisdom beyond their years, another being kindness, or understanding." Arthur grew silent at that.

"What was it like?" Merlin smiled softly. The question could mean so many things, but he knew what Arthur wanted to know.

"Every day I would be woken up not by a servant, but the birdsong outside my window. And I would get up, and go to a small room, where my family would be waiting. And I would eat with them, and talk. Smile, and laugh. My father would tell us stories of dragons, and knights. Warriors who were brave enough to walk into a battle that seemed impossible to win, and walk out victorious. My mother would tell us legends, and stories. She would tell us about nature, and how the druids were in touch with it, and the earth's magic. She used to open the window, and put bread crumbs on the ledge. And the birds would come and peck at it. Sometimes they would even venture into the room, and fly around before leaving.

"And later in the day I would go to my tutor, and learn spells, so that I could control my magic. And he would teach me about the balance of the world, and of magical creatures. He taught me prophecies, and myths, history. And later I would go out to watch the knights spar with one another. I would visit the town, and lend hand to the people. Help them both with my magic and without. And I would go to the forest, and just listen and watch the animals. That's how I met Níl. His wing had been broken, and I fixed it. Never left me after that." Merlin laughed. "I used to stay out so long that my father would send the knights to find me!"

Arthur was surprised by the peaceful , carefree look on Merlin's face. He seemed so relaxed, and happy, and Arthur didn't want to ruin it, but he had to know. So he asked the question that had been bothering him. "What did you use your magic for in Camelot? How many times?" And Merlin looked at him with eyes that were happy, yet sad at the same time. He recounted every tale there was. He told about Lady Helen, and Valiant, Nimueh, the griffin, Edwin and Sophia and Aulfric. He told about dragons and forging a sword that could kill the dead.

He told about a Questing Beast and Sigan, and the witchfinder, and a lost love, though he wouldn't say who killed her. And he told about Alined and Alvarr, and Mordred, and Morgause. And he told about falling tree branches, and burning swords, saddles that unbuckled, and arrows that veered off course. And When he finished all that Arthur could do was sit there in awe of what his friend could do. And he wondered how he ever thought him to be evil.

So he looked at Merlin who was staring at the ground, and he touched his shoulder. And in that moment, when Merlin looked up and their eyes met, they knew. They knew that they would be alright.

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**So Arthur completely over reacted in the beginning, but hey he and Merlin are all good again right?**

**I hope you liked it, so tell me what you think. I love hearing your opinions on the story. And if you have any suggestions it really helps as well. So don't forget to review. **


	17. Chapter 16

**Sorry this is up a little late, yesterday was hectic. I left my house at 7:20AM and didn't get back until 10:00PM and then had to finish a ton of homework. I didn't even get the time to go on my computer until a little while ago, which I just spent making final changes and corrections and everything. So this chapter probably isn't up to par with my other chapters, and is a bit shorter than the last two...**

**Anyways on with the story!**

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Completely oblivious to the fact that the two royals behind them were fine, and had finished talking, Camelot's knights were currently trying to figure out a way to pass their formidable opponents. As of now, Warrick, Jarret, and seven other knights had joined Ileana. Together they had restrained twenty of Camelot's knights, including Leon.

Warrick sighed before shouting over to the sea of red cloaked knights, "You really should just give it up. We won't let you interfere with Merlin and Arthur's conversation. I understand that you want to protect your prince; we want to protect our king; however Merlin made it quite clear that he and Arthur had to work this out on their own. And I think, in the end, Arthur will agree with my brother's orders."

"Why should we believe the word of those who serve a _sorcerer!_" Warrick grimaced, ever since the knights of Camelot had noticed Merlin's eyes flash in the dark, they had been trying to come up with the best way to be rid of them all. Of course, the same thing was also making them wary. After all how could they know if there were more sorcerers among Snowdonia's ranks? Before Warrick could speak however, another voice broke out.

"What happened! Warrick I _told you_ not to hurt them! I only wanted you to keep them from interfering!" It was Merlin, who had just squeezed through their blockade, holding a blue orb of light in his hand, followed closely by Arthur. To Arthur's credit, he only widened his eyes slightly.

Warrick answered, "We didn't hurt them. Just restrained them. We told them not to try and interfere, that you wouldn't hurt Arthur, but they all saw your eyes flash gold. Little hard not to in the dark."

"Fine, I'll concede that point. They probably thought that I would enchant Arthur or something. Ha! Like that would happen. I wouldn't know how even if I wanted to! But anyways, can you release the knights now?"

"Oh right, yeah." Warrick grinned sheepishly, and he and the other six Snowdonian knights released their holds on Camelot's. Ileana then walked over and released the knight that she had pinned to the ground with her sword. Merlin just shook his head.

Merlin looked to Arthur. "Sorry, if I had known my knights were practicing on yours I would have called them off sooner."

Arthur's eyes bulged, "_Practicing._ This is practice to you? You must be joking." Merlin just smiled that lopsided grin, which always made Arthur smile right back.

"Well... you saw Ileana and Wymer on the training field, the rest of my knights are just as skilled. So yeah, this is practice to them; especially when I said to be sure not to give your knights any injuries." Merlin looked back over to the knights that had tried to fight through to Arthur. He noticed that one of them was Sir Leon, who seemed like he _really_ wanted to say something to Arthur. Which was when he realized that all these men who were from Camelot now knew he had magic, and that Arthur was standing right next to him, acting like it was just another normal day. "Uuh Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

"I think your knights might be getting worried about you." Arthur looked to Merlin incomprehensively.

"What makes you think that?"

"You're the Prince of Camelot raised to despise magic, and I'm holding a glowing ball of light, obviously magic, and you're not doing anything about it. There are a number of things that could be going through their heads now don't you think?" Arthur looked at him for a moment, then to his knights, before walking confidently over to them. He immediately ordered them not to attack Merlin, and to try to get used to magic being around them. Merlin shook his head, before walking back to Snowdonia's side of the camp, where the fire had long died out. He waved for his knights to follow.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Merlin looked down, having relit the fire with a touch of magic. He looked over to where some of the soldiers were trying to relight their smaller fires in the dark. Since there were more men from Camelot, they had more than one fire to light. He smiled and walked over to them, ignoring the stares he got from the men.

"I can light that for you if you want?" Merlin looked the soldier in the eye, who just stared back, looking like he thought Merlin crazy. Merlin saw that the soldier's hands were far enough away from the pile of sticks to light them, so without hesitation Merlin's eyes flashed gold and a fire roared to life. Merlin's eyes flickered back up to the soldier to see his reaction. The soldier had a hand on his sword and was looking warily at Merlin, who smiled and sat down next to him.

"So then, what's your name my friend?" The soldier looked around warily before mumbling his answer.

"My name is Braden, sire."

"Braden, good to meet you Braden. Oh, and don't go using those damned titles with me. I don't like them. All men are equal in my eyes. Do you understand that? You can call me Merlin, or just about anything else, but don't use those titles." Braden stuttered.

"Y-yes si- I mean, Merlin." Merlin grinned largely.

"Eh, close enough. You'll get used to it eventually. The rest of my people did."

Another voice broke the crowd. "Get used to what?" Merlin turned, it was Leon. And, having wanted to get the rest of the knights and soldiers comfortable with him having magic, and it being used around them, Merlin waved him over.

"I told him that he shouldn't be using titles with me. I just want to be called Merlin." Leon smiled, albeit he still looked a bit wary.

"Nothing changed there then. Still no regard to rank."

"Nope. Nothing about me has changed at all, except now everyone knows more about me. Well I suppose I am smarter, and better at fighting then you all gave me credit for, but otherwise I'm still the same person." Merlin smiled widely, as he rambled on. It wasn't long before Arthur, and many other knights and soldiers from both Camelot and Snowdonia were sitting, or standing around the fire, swapping stories. Nobody even noticed the wyrvens screeching in the distance, and two hours later, after they had all eaten and talked until their throats were hoarse; everyone got up and went to bed.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

About an hour from the other side of the mountains, which stood between the knights and Snowdonia, a woman, with black hair cascading down her shoulders and back, was dining with her sister and the man responsible for the kingdoms down fall. The man, Unwin, was bragging once again about how he had defeated the famed knights of Snowdonia, and sent them running. But of course, the woman, Morgana Pendragon, and her sister, Morgause grew tired of this story. So the Morgause broke into Unwin's story.

"And have you found any of the runaway knights and citizens? You have captured the knights who didn't make it out of the city. You've done everything in your power to get the information of where they might be. You've sent your own men out, and even tried scrying and tracking spells. And yet… I see no more knights than you started with.

"Prince Arthur and Snowdonia's king and prince are on the way here, and once they meet up with the rest of their soldiers and knights, do you think you will still be so carefree? Since me and my sister have been here I've haven't seen you start to prepare your men for any battle. In fact, all you've done is play with your prisoners and sit around on the throne." Unwin stared at her in surprise, his dark brown almost black eyes staring at her. His silver mane seemed to shimmer with the reflected light of the torches.

"If what you say is true milady, then I still should have a few days. And with you and the lady Morgana helping, we shall never fall to those pests. After all, how will they be able to use their own magic when Camelot's forces have joined them? Even with Merlin they will still not stand a chance!"

Morgana tilted her head in confusion. "And just what, could _Merlin_ do in the first place. I realize he is a nuisance, he has meddled in our plan before, but against an army he would be nothing!"

Unwin's eyes widened. "You do not know! I would have thought… but no. You see milady, Merlin is not only a skilled fighter, he is also a dragonlord. He once commanded the wyrvens living up in the mountains to fight alongside him. Not only that, but whilst he is still naïve and not met his full potential, he is a powerful magic user. The druids living in the area call him Emrys. I'm sure you, Morgause, know what this name means, and who exactly he is." Morgana looked to her sister in confusion, while Morgause widened her eyes before laughing in disbelief.

"Merlin. Merlin! He cannot be Emrys. I would have known. Although it makes sense that he has magic. It makes much more sense now." While Morgause and Unwin continued to talk, Morgana was thinking to herself. Merlin had magic. _Merlin had magic._ He could have helped her! How could he have just left her? All these thoughts just made her feel his betrayal more, and Morgana's heart hardened as it became colder. She stood up, "If you'll excuse me?"

Morgause looked to her, an understanding look in her eyes, "Of course." Morgana smiled and walked back towards her room. The whole time thinking of new ways to extract revenge on Merlin. A smirk played about her lips, and her eyes were cold with a gleam in them, that caused anyone she passed to run away as fast as possible. She went to bed, and when she would wake, Morgana Pendragon would be no more, and in her place would be Morgan le Fay.

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**Alright, so this chapter was more of a transition chapter, where pretty much nothing happens. I always hate writing these, but unfortunately it was necessary. **

**And how did I do writing Morgana and Morgause? It was my first time, and I don't know if I really wrote them well. So if you have any suggestions to help me write them better, or feel like you should point something out about them, just let me know!**

** Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 17

**Oh damn. I am so sorry. I thought I uploaded this last night... I really need to work on that concept called organization... hmmm.**

**So this chapter is going to have a bit more happening than the last one, but I'm still in a bit of a transition period in the story. So unfortunately this will mostly be dialogue. But the story will get more action very soon, I promise! So until then, On with the story!  
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Merlin looked up at the mountains. They were at the base of them now, but still covered by the trees. It was only a bit past midday, but Merlin called for a stop. He called back, "Set up camp! We're staying here tonight!" Arthur looked to Merlin in surprise.

"Why are we setting up camp now? It's still day." Merlin looked into the forest surrounding them before answering.

"There are some people who are going to meet up with us, and I want to spend the least amount of nights in the mountains as possible. If we continue we'll have to spend two nights in the mountains before we reach the caves. However, if we leave tomorrow morning, we'll only spend the one. The less I have to deal with the wyrvens the better."

"Who's joining us, and why didn't you tell me you had other reinforcements? We are supposed to be working together on this you know."

"Oh I know. I just couldn't tell you until you knew about my magic, and that I was sure you had accepted it. I wouldn't want them to come to harm because of my actions… Yesterday before I talked to you I left for a couple hours, I'm sure you noticed. Anyways, I had called to Kilgharrah, and he helped me find the druid clans living in the area. They're sending people to help us." Arthur smirked.

"So those would be the 'people who aren't part of any specific kingdom, but will fight for your cause' then. I think Ileana was right about you having a way with words, and it's not just your magic. No wonder you managed to hide these secrets of yours. You just told half-truths, or reworded what you were trying to say, and fast too. That's actually a bit impressive."

Merlin stared wide eyed, "Was that actually a compliment?"

"No."

"It was!" Merlin was grinning now.

"Was not! I was simply stating a fact!"

"That doesn't change the fact that it was a compliment."

"It was _not_ a compliment!"

"Whatever you say Arthur!" Merlin started to walk away, but suddenly stopped. Arthur frowned in confusion, as he witness Merlin tilt his head and close his eyes. It seemed he was listening for something. The moment passed however, and then Merlin smiled and looked to the forest on his right. He began to speak, "Arthur! Warrick! Come on, we have to go meet up with some friends!" Arthur followed Merlin as he walked into the trees, and Warrick came up behind them.

Warrick looked to his brother, before speaking, "So Merlin, how many druids are coming to help us again? Cause' I do assume that's who we're meeting right?"

"65 total, and yes, that is who we will be meeting with. At least the one's coming from the Elder Clan, they were the closest. But they wanted to meet with us before entering a group of armed people. We'll have to wait until later tonight for the druids from the Oak Tribe, and Hazel Clan. And the Order of the Ravens will meet us in the mountains."

"The Order of the Ravens, how did you manage that? They never got involved with us before. Always staying up in the forest patches of the mountains. Don't know why though, what with all the wyrvens." Arthur raised his eyebrows, and Merlin answered.

"It's a sacred place to them Warrick. They've been living there since the dragons roamed free. As for them agreeing to help us, it has to do with what Kilgharrah told me on our first meeting."

Warrick's eyes lightened with understanding, but hadn't caught on, "And what exactly did you find out that would convince druids to help you? You didn't tell me about it." Merlin bit his lip, as Arthur.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't think you were ready for it. After all your ego is big enough as it is, prat. But I guess I have to now. And we got a little bit before we meet up with the Roses, so I'll tell you about the druid's prophecy."

"Prophecy! What are you-"

"Oh be quiet Arthur! Anyways, as the prophecy goes, the Once and Future king will unite all of Albion in a time of peace and prosperity, and free magic. He is destined to be the greatest king ever to rule over Albion. But because he will face so many threats from those who would wish revenge for his father's sins, a man will be born to protect him. Emrys, the most powerful warlock to exist will be his protector and advisor; two halves of a coin, the same yet so very different. You are the Once and Future Arthur, and I am Emrys. Together we are destined to bring about a golden age." Merlin stopped walking and turned around to face Arthur.

"As Emrys I hold the respect and loyalty of many of the magical community. Emrys is a beacon of hope to all with magic, that one day they will be free. There are some who have sworn their life to serve Emrys, and yet have no idea who I am." Merlin paused to let that sink in, then turned back around and continued walking.

"The Order of the Ravens was one such group. They had lived closely with the dragons, who had also had their own prophecies, regarding Emrys. It was foretold to them that Emrys would come to these mountains in his time of need, and request assistance in saving his home. When he did, it would signify the dawning of the golden age, and then they would spread word that times were changing. This is what they told me. As of now, whilst we travel towards these mountains, those who are not fighting for us from The Order, will be moving across the mountains and land. And they have pledge their allegiance to me, and through me to you, Arthur." Merlin stopped walking, and Arthur and Warrick almost ran into him.

Ahead of them was a clearing and in it were 16 druids talking together, although some seemed to be just staring at each other. Arthur noticed Merlin leaning forward slightly, as if trying to hear something and suddenly Merlin made eye contact with another druid, who seemed older than the others. The druid nodded before his eye flashed gold, and a mist fell around the clearing. Merlin then walked in to the misted clearing as the other druids turned to meet him. Arthur and Warrick followed behind him.

When they all reached the older druid, the man bowed, "Emrys, it is an honor to meet you." Merlin frowned.

"Please don't bow to me, besides, we've already met., Bevan. Of course, I believe I was much younger then." The druid tilted his head in confusion, before gasping in recognition.

"Prin- King Merlin! I apologize for not recognizing you. Last I saw you; you were still six years old."

"Yes, and I was much less knowledgeable about magic. Of course, as you can see I still have much to learn, otherwise I would have cast the concealing spell myself. But that is not why we are here. You were worried about Camelot's soldiers, and knights. I cannot assure you that they will not attack you… But Prince Arthur can." All the druids looked to Arthur with slight worry, but also a curiosity. Arthur realized he was expected to speak.

"Yes, I give you my word that none of my men shall harm you. If they shall then it will be going against my direct orders, and they will be dealt with. I promise you this." The druids seemed pleased by this, as they nodded their heads and smiled. Nobody noticed that Merlin and Bevan were having a silent conversation.

"_Emrys, is he the one?"_

"_Yes, Arthur is the Once and Future King. I was told that the dawning approaches. After this battle, word must spread. Many have lost faith in us. Already the Order of Ravens works to spread the news."_

"_Than once I return to my clan, I too shall help spread word."_

"_Thank you Bevan. I appreciate it." _ They broke eye contact and both focused once again on Arthur. Merlin spoke, "I believe we are ready then. We need to return before people begin wondering where we ran off to."

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

When they walked into the clearing with the Elder druids following behind them, Camelot's knights grew tense. Arthur immediately went over to give them orders not to harm them for any reason.

Merlin and Warrick led the druids over to the area between the Camelot's and Snowdonia's camp; where some of Merlin's knights were setting up tents. The druids thanked both royals, and began to get settled in the camp. Merlin walked around for a while, making sure everyone was doing well. Some of his knights were even practicing, and he was able to give them advice.

It was when the sun had just begun to set, that the druids from the Oak Tribe and Hazel Clan showed up. Together they were a group of 29. There were fifteen Oaks and fourteen Hazels. Merlin noticed that they still seemed apprehensive about the Camelot knights, so after they settled, he called all the druids together.

"It is an honor to have so many druids willing to help reclaim Snowdonia, and I thank you all. I only wish that this meeting could be under better circumstances. And I see that some of you seem uncomfortable here. I have talked to some of you, but not all, so I will say this to you all now… You have nothing to fear from the knights and soldiers of Camelot. Prince Arthur has given his word of your safety. And should you not believe that a Pendragon would do as such, then I ask you, would the Once and Future King?" He paused as a whispering went through the druids.

"Because Arthur Pendragon _is_ the king of prophecies just as much as_ I_ am Emrys. You needn't fear them, and you may use your magic freely. In fact, I encourage it. Practicing as much as you can before the battle will certainly help you. And it will certainly allow the fighters from Camelot to grow used to magic. We are in the borders of Snowdonia, not Camelot. Therefore, the laws of my kingdom stand, not theirs. Do not worry about them, do what you need to do to prepare. We will reach the caves in two days. I expect you all to be comfortable with Arthur and his men by then." Merlin waited as all the druids nodded to him, and then smiled, as the druids began to move away to practice.

It was a couple hours later that the first calls of the wyrvens began to resonate down the mountains. Merlin knew that they were close enough that wyrvens might come down. And he couldn't afford to stay up all night twice in a row. He needed to be awake for tomorrow night; when they would actually be in the mountains. Merlin didn't want to do it yet, but he knew he would have to.

Merlin walked out to the empty area behind his side of the camp. It looked to be big enough so he stood and looked to the sky before roaring, "O drakon, e mala soi ftengometh tesd'hup anankes! Erkheo!" Merlin did his best to ignore the stares he was getting from everyone in the camp. Whether they were from Camelot, Snowdonia or one of the druid clans. It wasn't much longer before Kilgharrah showed up, and Merlin could feel the tension in the camp from where he was.

He greeted the dragon, "Hello Kilgharrah."

The dragon smiled. "Young warlock. I assume that the young Pendragon knows of your secret if you have called me here."

"You would be right. I told him after I returned from our last meeting. However that is not why I called you."

"No. Of course not. What is it you need Merlin?"

Merlin looked back to see Warrick staring at Kilgharrah. He chuckled. "Well my brother wanted to meet you for one, and I need your help in keeping away the wyrvens through the night. I can't stay awake all night if we'll be sleeping in the mountains tomorrow."

"A smart decision. You needn't worry about wyrvens tonight. They will not come here so long as I am nearby."

"Thank you, old friend."

"You're welcome. Now I believe your brother wanted to speak with me?"

"Right." Merlin turned, "Warrick! Come over here and meet Kilgharrah." Merlin grinned as his younger brother ran over. Merlin walked away to let the two speak alone. This was his brother's moment to meet a dragon, and Merlin recalled his first time meeting Kilgharrah. This was something that Warrick should do alone.

As Merlin walked back into the camp, he noticed everyone was still starring at Kilgharrah. He sighed, "Alright that's enough! Stop staring and go do whatever you need to get done. I doubt that either of them appreciates being gawked at." As soon as he said it, everyone quickly scrambled to go practice or do anything else besides looking at the dragon. Merlin almost laughed at the sight. He went to go talk with some of the druids.

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**So what did you think? Do you like it? Hate it? Don't know how you feel? Any suggestions, comments? Just let me know by pressing that review button down there... Please?**

**Anyways, midterms are going to be coming up for me, so I will do my best to keep updating on my usual schedule, but my school loves to pound us with homework before midterms. Don't understand why, it just gives us less study time. And less free time... Whatever. Hope you all are liking the story! And happy reading!**


	19. Chapter 18

**I have no good excuse for this being this late, except for a severe case of writer's block, and being forced to clean my house...**

**Anyways, I really need to stop starting all these Author's notes with apologies for what ever reason. I think you can all agree with me. So starting now I will not begin author's notes with excuses... That doesn't mean that they won't end up somewhere else...**

**And if you're still reading my ramblings, I'm just going to throw in a bit of wisdom I came up with one night when I was way to tired... "Some of the best people in the world, often have some of the hardest lives." I am not one of these people with hard lives, I just felt like putting that in here... I guess that's enough of my prattle.**

**Enjoy the story! **

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Kilgharrah was very amused at Merlin's younger brother, as the boy was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. Warrick was not acting very princely at the moment, no, he was acting more like a young boy who was about to be given a gift.

"So you're Kilgharrah? I heard so many stories about you. My father told many stories about the dragons. I never thought I would get to meet one, after all we thought all the dragons to be dead. But you're here, and alive. Father would have been so happy had he been here!" Kilgharrah gave what resembled a smile.

"Young prince, I am sure that Balinor knows. Just as I am sure he must be proud of you. But I do hope that those stories were good ones?"

"Oh, yes. He used to tell me about your wisdom, and how you managed to prevent wars alongside with him. He said that was one of the reasons you were given the title the Great Dragon. And that you could see the destinies of every person."

"I wouldn't say every person, only those with important roles."

"Do I… have a destiny?"

"Every man has a destiny Warrick, just some are not as clear as others… Your path shall be made by that of your brothers. His destiny is inescapable, and because of that yours is clear." Warrick was bit his lip, wondering what his destiny could be.

"What is it? My destiny that is. You told Merlin what his was." Kilgharrah seemed to be sorry about what he said next.

"I'm afraid I only told Merlin his destiny because he needed to hear it. However I cannot tell you yours as it will come about sooner than you might think. Your brother can tell you of the consequences of knowing the future."

"Alright, that's one question_ not_ answered… Can you tell me more about my father? He used to tell us all about the dragons, but he near spoke about himself when he was young. And I never knew my mother, but Merlin and Raymond said they never heard her speak of it either. The only tale we heard of was how they met by chance in the forest."

"Ah yes, Balinor. He was rather unique. Always compassionate, kind. He helped anyone who needed it. He was one of the most respected and renowned dragonlords. He cared for many dragons in his time, as well as any elderly or sick. He had been a great healer. Although was always very persistent, and good with words… much like the young warlock. Never abused his power over the dragons, and certainly had a wise head on his shoulders, even when he was still very young. He once had the choice to see his whole future, and that of his blood line… he turned away and never went back. That was also the day he met your mother.

"He had been quite taken with her, as I'm sure you heard. He had even talked to me about her. I remember the joy in his voice as he spoke of her. Young love it was…"

Warrick broke in before Kilgharrah could say anymore, "A lot like Merlin then." Kilgharrah huffed a bit of hot air that ruffled Warrick's hair.

"Yes, very much so, except for healing. From what the young warlock tells me, his skills in healing magic are rather poor."

"He told me much the same… Merlin was wrong about you. He said you talked in riddles all the time."

Kilgharrah chuckled, or at least Warrick thought that's what it was. "Give me time little prince. Give me time." Warrick watched as Kilgharrah spread his wings and flew into the sky. The dragon began to circle the clearing, before moving further into the woods.

Over with the druids Merlin was talking about magical battle strategy and spells. Trying to learn for himself, and know what he had to work with. He heard the familiar sound of the dragon's wings, and looked up to the dragon circle the clearing. He heard Kilgharrah's voice ring in his head, _"I need to hunt, but I will stay close enough to keep back the wyrvens"_

Merlin nodded his head before responding, _"Of course, I won't keep you from finding food."_ Kilgharrah flew off into the woods.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

It was after most of the camp had fallen asleep that Arthur strolled up to Merlin. He had noticed Merlin had seemed a bit hesitant, and he was going to find out what. But he also had to talk to Merlin about a certain surprise visit, and what his plans were to keep the men returning to Camelot quiet about the magic.

"So Merlin, when were you going to tell me that you would be calling the dragon?" Merlin looked at him.

"First of all, his _name_ is _Kilgharrah_, not dragon. And I didn't tell you because I didn't think much of it. We already talked about Kilgharrah. My brother wanted to meet him, and he will keep away the wyrvens when I need to sleep tonight. I'll be staying up tomorrow since we'll be in the mountains, but not tonight." Arthur was slightly annoyed. Every one of his knights had reached for their swords thinking that they were about to be attacked. The only thing that had kept them from drawing the swords had been his own orders. After all he couldn't have them pointing their swords at every person seen with magic. That would get them nowhere.

"Alright, fine. I see your point. But you could have given me time to warn my men. They still aren't very trusting of you, except Leon."

"That's because they don't know me." Arthur sighed.

"I know, and all the stories you told at our little 'bonfire,' the other night, certainly helped ease some of the tension, but it's still there. Won't help much when we're fighting if there's still tension, which bring me to another thing.

"When we return to Camelot my father will want to know what happened. It's not like I can tell him that we fought alongside a dragon, and druids, and magic users, and what were they… wyrvens. And I don't plan to; my knights will probably follow my lead. But what about the soldiers? They might not tell the king, but rumors will spread like wild fire. The only way you will get them to keep quiet is to gain their trust Merlin. You're going to need to prove to them that magic is good, that _you're_ good.

"I'm pretty sure they've figured out my opinions on magic now, and probably realize my plans for when I'm king, but that doesn't mean they won't try and prevent it if they don't see the good in it. You told me about the Once and Future King. What I'm supposed to do, but I can't do it without you either. You said so yourself."

"Arthur-"

"All I'm saying is that you should try and show them some magic. Not just things like making fires. Join one of the battles or something. Get them used to you using magic. But next time you want to surprise the whole camp, at least run it by me first okay? Like when you call the wyrvens to join the fight, give me warning so I can tell my men. Otherwise they're never going to trust you. I don't expect it to happen overnight. I don't expect their trust in you to be as strong as mine, but make it something." What Arthur didn't say, and didn't need to was, _I'm worried for you, and I don't want to see you get hurt anymore because my men couldn't keep their mouths shut._ But Merlin knew.

"You're right, and I'm sorry. I'll try to gain their trust alright? But as you said it won't be overnight… We need to discuss how we're going to do this. The battle I mean. When we get to the rest of my people, we need to have some sort of plan. My people will expect more from me. They've seen me fight in the past, and I used to be the one who would lead my knights, much like you do. That falls to Warrick now, but I am set to be crowned king as soon as this is over. They need to know that I already have allies, friends, that will help us. They need to know that I can protect them, and that they can come to me for help, or guidance. I haven't seen anyone from my kingdom in years Arthur. And I never was truly prepared and trained to be a king liked you.

"When I was growing up, Raymond was the one trained to rule the kingdom, I was brought up to be a dragonlord and expert in magic, Warrick was raised to lead the knights when he was of age, and to know how to rule and be fair in case he married a princess in another kingdom, that had no sons. I need your help as well Arthur. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. How to do things properly. Yes I can twist words, and I am skillful at making treaties, and diffusing fights. Yes I know how to make hard decisions that will determine the fate of the kingdom and its people. But I don't know how to be a king. I don't even want to, but Warrick's still too young, and there's nobody else left." Arthur was studying Merlin as he spoke. It seemed to him, that Merlin didn't see how good a ruler he would actually be. Arthur decided it was time to give Merlin's ego a boost.

"Merlin, you already are a good king. You've proven your worth and kindness to your people already. Sure, you haven't seen them in a few years, but they wouldn't have forgotten you. They'll know you to be kind. They'll know that you will sacrifice for their safety; who wouldn't after you left to protect them. I saw you when you first entered the throne room as a king in Camelot. Sure you were under a cloak, but you still looked like a king. You acted like one. When you spoke, you only told what needed to be said, which I good. When we were discussing how many men my father would send, you spoke with confidence. You laid out the facts, you strategized. As long as you be yourself Merlin, use your better judgment, you'll be a great king."

Arthur noticed that Merlin seemed dubious, but he also seemed to be a little surer of himself. He smiled. "You should rest Merlin. I don't care if you're a bloody king. I, as a friend, am telling you to go to sleep." Arthur was relieved to hear Merlin chuckle. He had been worried that Merlin was becoming too sullen to laugh. That wasn't allowed to happen. It was Merlin's nature to laugh and be optimistic.

"Alright Arthur, but don't complain if I say you sound like my mum… Hunith, I mean. My mother wouldn't be that demanding per say."

"So you still think of Hunith as your mother. Speaking of… what was your actual mother's name?"

"Forestyne. I always thought it fitting really."

"And why is that."

"Well in Snowdonia many of the people's names all mean something. Forestyne literally means _of the forest_ if I'm remembering correctly. My father and mother met in the forest. Never knew why my father was there, but my mother had been taking a walk. She loved nature. I used to think she could speak to the animals, or had some kind of magic for growing plants, because she used to attract all sorts of animals to her, and the plants she would grow, would end up twice their normal size."

"I suppose that name is fitting then. But now you're going to sleep. You can't fool me into getting sidetracked this time Merlin." Arthur had of course realized during this journey, that Merlin didn't just say half-truths. Or say things in a different manner, when he wanted to hide something. He also changed the direction of a conversation as subtly as possible. Of course it seemed he also did this when he wanted to get out of doing something.

Merlin sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll go to bed _mother_." Merlin started to walk off but shouted over his shoulder, "And for the record, Kilgharrah's out hunting, and might return to the camp later, but he's not that far so don't let anyone go into the woods if they can help it!" Arthur just shook his head as Merlin went to his tent and disappeared from view.

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**I'm just going to say this now and get it out of the way. I am not going to make this story necessarily slash, or necessarily bromance. Whatever you want it to be, well that's your own interpretation. I don't know why I put this here of all places, but whatevs.**

** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, not that much of anything really happened... **

**But the next chapter they go up into the mountains and have to face the wyrvens, and quite possibly will meet up with this mysterious Order of the Ravens from the last chapter... And there might be more Morgana. If all goes to plan that is. So if you want to see anything particular happen in the next chapter or two, let me know either by sending me a PM or by reviewing. I might just be able to fit it in. **

**So thanks for reading! **


	20. Chapter 19

**Well I'm feeling good about this chapter, even though it's... What? almost midnight? Hmmm I thought it was still 10:00. This explains why no one was downstairs watching TV... Oh well. It's not like I don't stay up this ate on school night's making sure I finish HW (A curse upon this world to be honest).**

**Anyways, Hope you like this chapter!**

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Another strong gust of wind blew across the mountain, hitting Arthur in the face. It was strong enough to make Arthur's eyes begin to tear up. He crunch them up and braced himself against the wind, much like everyone else. Everyone else that is, except for the druids, Merlin and the rest of his knights.

Arthur studied his friend. He seemed to not be bothered by the cold temperatures, and strong winds. In fact, he seemed to be smiling. Arthur also noticed the bird that was perched on Merlin's shoulders. Níl, he believed Merlin had called him. It made sense that the falcon was sitting on him rather than flying. The winds were probably too strong to fly in; unless of course you were a dragon. The thought reminded Arthur of the great golden-red dragon that had spent the night near the camp. It had flown of as soon as the sky had shown the first signs of the approaching dawn.

Arthur noticed it was silent, except for the howling wind, that or he just couldn't hear them. He encouraged his horse to move closer to Merlin's. His friend looked over and smiled at him. "Hello Arthur."

Arthur wondered how Merlin could be so cheery, his teeth chattered as he spoke, "M-merlin… why didn't y-you t-t-tell me it w-would b-be so co-ld." Merlin looked him up and down, and then looked back at the other men from Camelot.

"Oh… I guess I didn't think about it. The cold doesn't bother me you see. After all, I grew up here and it was common for my father to take me up into the mountains. Hmmm…" Merlin looked thoughtful then suddenly perked up in his saddle. Arthur thought he heard Merlin mumbled something, but couldn't make out what it was, before his eyes turned gold and a sense of warmth fell over him. The wind quieted, and suddenly it was completely quiet but for the sound of the a thousand horses' hooves hitting the rocky path. When Arthur looked back he saw the rest of his men seemed to be surprised, and soon voices were heard as they began to talk once more. As he looked around he noticed that the few trees were still swaying in the wind, yet it seemed to go around the procession of knights, soldiers, and druids.

He looked to Merlin who was smiling smugly. "Merlin, what did you just do?"

"I made… well I guess you could call it a bubble. It will shield us from the wind, but anything else can still pass through it. If something were to pass through that that I wasn't expecting then it will probably, for lack of a better term, 'pop'."

"A bubble… wonders never cease." Arthur was shaking his head. They travelled in silence for a while. During which Arthur thought back on all the strange things that happened when Merlin was around. He had once attributed it to luck, but now he knew the truth. And as he thought about Merlin, he realized, that although he had learned more about his friend during this journey, he still did not know much about his past. Merlin had only told him a few stories, and he wondered more about him. Arthur decided it was time to learn more about him. The question was where did he start "Merlin?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm curious…" Arthur's mind was filled with so many questions, but he couldn't choose which one to ask. He opened his mouth to speak, "What made you choose to learn how to use knives? Why not quarter staves, or something." Arthur immediately berated himself. Of all the questions he had… Why did he choose that one! Merlin however, threw his head back and laughed. Níl shifted on his shoulders and ruffled his feathers.

"Now that is a great tale!" He smiled happily, while Arthur looked on a bit bewildered and confused. He couldn't quite figure out what was so funny. Eventually though Merlin seemed to regain his composure. "Sorry, it's just every time I remember this… well it's better if I just told the story… When I was visiting one of the neighboring kingdoms at the time- I was fourteen I believe. Anyways, I had just returned to my temporary chambers after dinner, and suddenly I began to get a bit… dizzy. It came a bit as a surprise to me really; I had only had a few sips of wine that night. I quickly found myself sitting down on my bed. It was when a stenchful canker-blossomed maggot of a man came into my room and closed and locked the door behind me, that it dawned upon me that I had been drugged.

"The dizzy spell passed in that moment, but something still had seemed off, and my senses rather dulled. But I was beginning to catch-up with what was happening. However before I could react, the man pulled out a… bracelet per say, and just as the instinct to get away sent me to my feet. It was too little to late unfortunately, because suddenly the man was in front of me and the bracelet snapped around my wrist.

"The man backed away momentarily, and I took the chance to use my magic… it never came. I found out later that the bracelet was enchanted to cut off a sorcerer's powers. I was defenseless, having had relied on my magic too much in my naivety. I remember the man's smile clearly, and it I something I had hoped I would never see again- I did, that' not the point though. He was quick to come at me, and whilst I did fight back, I wasn't very good. It wasn't long before he had me lying on my back staring up at him, dazed from the fall. He pulled out a dagger, hidden under his coat, then. He knelt down to my level, and at the point all I could do was stare. But just before he could bring the dagger down upon me, I rolled to the side, stopping underneath the bed.

"As luck would have it, the chambers seemed to have been some one's before, because under that bed was two knives, strapped to the bottom of the bed frame with leather. I was quick to pull them out, figuring I should follow the simple rule, 'act now, ask later'. I had never really tried using knives before but something had just seemed so natural about it. The man by now had moved to the foot of the bed and reached under grabbing my foot and pulling me out. I let him. And when he bent down to turn me over, I surprised him and made to stab him with one of the knives. I will never forget the face he made in his shock. He truly looked like a startled stoat. However, he had also had very fast reflexes and managed to deflect it, but not before I cut him along his side. He fell down, in surprise I suppose, and we tussled a bit on the ground, before we both made it to our feet.

"He started to fight me with the dagger, but somehow I managed to block or deflect most of his blows with the knives. Somehow I just knew what to do. Of course, I wasn't perfect. And he managed to knock one of the knives out of my hands, but somehow I ended up pinning him to the ground, knife laid across his neck. It was at that moment when a servant came in, gasped, and ran out the door. He came back after a minute with the guards in tow.

"They let me keep the knives, they're the ones I wear now, and had obviously once belonged to someone else of importance. My father had them cleaned up and set me to be tutored how to learn to use them with our best knife wielder. After many lessons, he eventually had us try a spar to see where I needed more work. I won. And both my father's face, and my tutor's had been priceless… After that I taught the lessons for those who wanted to use knives. I also made it mandatory that every knight would eventually pick a second weapon. Of course, many still considered knights who had yet to pick a second weapon as soldiers. But that's another story."

Arthur just looked on incredulous. It seemed that that Ileana hadn't been joking when she had said Merlin had felt a 'connection' with his knives. And that each knight felt that same feeling of naturalness with the second weapon they all chose. And as he sorted this story into the what he knew about Merlin he realized something. "Why do all the stories you tell me, seem to have you fighting someone off, or rescuing people? I mean seriously, did you ever have time to just relax?"

"Of course I did. Snowdonia was very peaceful. Every time I ever had to fight someone I was well away from the city. Didn't I tell you this already? And I know I told you what Snowdonia was like when I grew up, that didn't have any fights in it."

"Yes I know, but honestly, don't you have any _other_ happy memories?"

"Of course I do! Don't give that look I do! Like when I… like when I was trying a new spell, and accidently mad frogs appear in everywhere in the castle. We couldn't get rid of them for a week!" Arthur stared for a minute before bursting out laughing. "You think that's funny huh? You wouldn't be laughing if you had seen how Julie reacted. The frogs kept hoping into her stews. She made us all eat frog legs for the week. And I will tell you, _they do not taste like chicken!_ It was terrible!" It only made Arthur laugh more.

After a while Arthur managed to control himself. "Alright, you proved your point." He reached over and gave Merlin a 'friendly punch'. Only to be pecked at by the bird sitting on Merlin's shoulder. "OW! Merlin!"

"What? It's not my fault you punched me. Níl's a bit protective."

"I can see that!"

"Here let me heal it." Merlin grabbed Arthur's hand and placed one of his own on top. His eyes flashed gold and the cut stopped bleeding.

"I thought you said you weren't good at healing. And why does that bird follow you everywhere?"

Merlin shrugged. "I'm not good at healing, but small scrapes are easy enough. Although when I was younger I didn't seem to have a problem with it. After all that is how I came across Níl in the first place. I had found him in the forest one day, and- not to my surprise really- he let me come right up to him. It was then that I realized he had a broken wing. I was twelve at the time, and still didn't know many spells, but I remember wanting to help Níl. So I cradled him, and began to walk back home to see if I could find someone to help him. When I got back however he was already healed. Somehow I had used my magic without realizing. After that Níl followed me everywhere. And if I got lost he would lead me back. One time though I got injured, and Níl, smart bird that he is, flies of and comes back an hour later leading a knight to me. That was when the rumors of him actually being a bloodhound began; courtesy of my brother Warrick."

"It seems like you manage to make friends everywhere you go Merlin. Even if it has to be a bird. Speaking of making friends... did you find most of them in the forest because that seems to be a reoccurring theme with you Merlin. I mean Níl here, those sorcerers you saved from slave traders, druids, Ileana, an-"

"You got Ileana to talk to you about that? What else did she tell you, besides... you know, my 'way with words'?"

"She said you felt whole when you used your knives, you were born with your gift, that you bought her her sword, and that she thought you a great fighter, and me to be a great king in the future. Mean anything to you?"

"It means she's beginning to trust you, and that she can see in you what I do. It also means that she was trying to tell you more about me so that you wouldn't be angry… She's rather unique in that aspect. Knows what to say to make someone think, or send them on the right course, and if her words don't do it well… let's say she's very good at making her point known. And whatever you do, _never _sneak up behind her and tap her to get her attention. Just don't. And never wake her when she's sleeping. Leave that to the other woman knights."

"And why is that Merlin. Are you scared of her?"

"No. It's just- well… Let me put it this way. One of the lords in our castle surprised her by grabbing her shoulder in one of the darker passages… she broke his nose. And the first time someone woke her up by grabbing her shoulder, she grabbed their wrist and snapped it. In that case though it was for the better because the man was going to attempt to… well… have his way with her. Nobody tried that again. And that man, a visiting knight from another kingdom, was punished. The next time someone went to wake her, they got punched in the stomach hard enough to send them reeling back. Needless to say if we wake her up, we do it from a safe distance."

"I wouldn't believe you if I hadn't seen her fighting that day on the training grounds."

Merlin smiled. "No one ever does. Although we do have gotten many complaints from men visiting from other kingdoms- we've never had a problem with our people- about Ileana. But she's like a sister to us, and the truth is, any of our other knights would probably do much the same if they had a life like hers."

"And what life exactly would that be?"

"Not my secret to tell. Sorry, but if you want to find out you have to wait for Ileana to tell you herself."

"Alright, fine… but I'm going to get it out of you eventually, even if it means getting you drunk to do it!"

"Ha! I'd like to see you try. I've taken special precautions as to never get drunk. I just don't know what would happen. I mean with my magic I could probably blow up the damned tavern. And you wouldn't be the first to try and get me to drink until I spill all my secrets. When I was travelling to Ealdor from Snowdonia, I chanced upon a fellow. Quite a… unique character I'd say. He was drunk at the time, got himself into a tavern brawl actually.

I helped him out of it, he traveled with me for a bit, tried to get me drunk every time we stopped at an inn and tavern for the night. He never succeeded, but he was a nice fellow, if a bit brazen, and a flirt; tried to get all the girls really. But he had many stories, though I doubt they were true, he certainly did make me laugh. And that was what I needed at the time. I told him to visit Snowdonia one time. He told me he would be sure to, and that if I ever needed him that he would be in a tavern. I laughed hard that day. An-"

"Merlin."

"Yes?"

"Shut-up."

"…meh, I don't feel like it." They stared at each other before bursting out laughing. But just as Arthur opened his mouth to ask another question, Níl began to shuffle nervously on Merlin's shoulder, and jumped up, flying in a circle around Merlin. Merlin was suddenly very alert, and it was at that moment what appeared to be a giant bull, glimmering as the sun caught off of its bronze fur and flames coming out it's mouth, came crashing towards the group, the wind returned full force, and Merlin swore under his breath.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Morgana, now preferring to be called Morgan Le Fay, sat across from her sister, Morgause. The witch was the only one who Morgana knew would not betray her. The one person had helped her, and taught her to control her magic. The one who had brought her away from the vile man who had betrayed and poisoned her. She couldn't wait to get her hands on him, but her sister thought he should be disposed of as soon as possible. She spoke up again.

"No. No sister. What use is he to us dead? What advantage do we gain? Once he is captured his people might lose hope, but they will still not bow down. No we must give him a taste of his own medicine. Teach him exactly how it feels to be stabbed in the back. And then show the people exactly how he has fallen, show them who they should truly be loyal to."

"It is a good idea. But how can we restrain him? He is Emrys." Morgause shook her head. "We must kill him before he kills us."

"Everyone must have a weakness Morgause. And _Merlin_" She spat the name with pure contempt and hatred, "is still weak. He is a thorn in our side, but he is still naïve. Unwin says that heard of an enchanted bracelet…manacle… whatever, it once contained his magic long enough for a man to almost kill him. If the pest hadn't gotten his hands on his knives, then he would be long dead. Apparently they are held in the dungeons for sorcerers held for trial, or imprisoned." Morgana's eyes were shining with determination, but it was sick determination, one that spoke of pain and much misery in the future.

Morgause studied Morgana for a moment before sighing, "Very well. You may have him at your mercy once he is captured and bound." Morgana smirked, already planning what exactly she would do to the warlock, the betrayer. The discussion moved to other topics then, as Morgause once again spoke.

"It is incredible is it not? Unwin has managed to rebuild most of the wall that had been destroyed in his attack, and he has prepared his men for battle and in but two days. And now one of the knights he has been trying to _persuade_ into telling the location of the escapees seems close to breaking. Not that it can help the old fool much. He won't be able to get the information before Arthur and Merlin will reach Snowdonia. If we are to believe Unwin's word, then they will be about a day from the borders. And they will still have to stop and figure out how they will attack."

Morgana smirked once again, "We have plenty of time to prepare for the battle then?"

"Yes, once Emrys is captured and the one's foolish enough to follow him are punished and put to work rebuilding, and repairing the damages the wrought, then we can be rid of Unwin and claim Snowdonia for ourselves." Morgana nodded her head at her sisters logic.

"And then we can use the kingdom to bring down Camelot." Both sisters lips twisted into cold, cruel smiles.

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**You all hate me don't you? Is it the cliffhangers... That's what I thought. I'm going to back away slowly now... Alright no need for the pitchforks... or torches... no really, there's no need... you can express your feelings using the review button down there. Use your words, not violence! hehehe... I'm running now.**


	21. Chapter 20

**So I finally finished this chapter after locking myself in my room for a few hours with my computer, while my mom yelled at me to go outside and do something. I just told her to go outside herself and then tell me why I'm refusing. It's 21 m.p.h winds for crying out loud! Like I'm going out in that. I've already seen trees falling outside my window thank you very much! So no I decided to stay inside and make sure I finished this chapter for all you great readers out there so you don't kill me for that cliffy in the last chapter. **

**So if your still read my entire rant here I'm giving you a jar of virtual cookies. They're homemade!**

**Anyways enjoy the story!**

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Even as the winds threatened to blow them to the ground, everyone in the party, close to the oversized bull hurling itself towards them, were on their feet weapons at the ready. That is everyone except for most of Snowdonia's knights. Only two of the blue caped knights were standing, along with Merlin. Some of the druids- about five- also stood with them. None had their weapons at the ready, but their hands were outstretched. As Arthur went to move forward he ran into a barrier, and looked over to see Merlin staring at him with eyes of gold. The other knights and soldiers tried to advance as well, only to also be blocked by the barrier.

Merlin and his knights, and druids, formed a wide circle around the bull, as it became confused, and unable to decide which target to aim for. Merlin recalled what he knew of the creatures. The _tarw efydd _they were called. They had fought the beasts before, but it had not been easy_._ Instead of fur it had a coat made of faded bronze plates, resembling armor. Its horns were sharp and could pierce the strongest steel, and fire flowed freely out of their mouths. It was a creature much like the khalkotauroi found in Greek mythology. But the tarw efydd was not so easily defeated, as the mythical bulls were by Jason.

Merlin looked to his two knights. Jarret was one, and he was rather skilled at it. He had chosen magic as his second choice for a weapon, but he just as often used it to heal, or entertain children. The other was named Silias. He had once been a druid, but he had visited Snowdonia many times, and grew to love it. The boy had often watched the knights train from afar, before Merlin had called him over and had him join. Silias had turned out to be skilled in battle magic, and became a knight a few months later.

The tarw efydd turned, its head shaking back and forth; looking from one person to the next. The magic users lifted their hands and a multicolored dome formed around them. The colors in the shield depended on its source. The amount of that color depending on how much was put in from its source. The blue took up most of the space in the dome, swirling amongst the others shades of green, red, yellow, orange, and even grey, swirled in the dome. And white flew among it as well, mixing with the other colors. And even with all the colors, the dome still appeared translucent.

The tarw efydd tossed its head, snorting out flames as it ran at each person within the dome, attempting to impale with its horns or burn them with its red hot fire. At first each of the sorcerers merely pushed the bull back with their magic, but then they began to move. First one of the druids broke the formation, running out towards the beast. It turned and charged and the druid crouched down as the sorcerers directly behind the tarw efydd shouted an incantation and the bronze beast was suddenly flung into the barrier, as the druid rolled underneath it.

The sorcerers all came to stand in the middle of the circle created by the dome, and as the bull charged at them, their eyes all flashed gold simultaneously, the dome changed into a whip like shape, and the tarw efydd was lifted into the air. The 'whip' rapped around the bull on one end, melding into the rock of the mountain on the other. The beast was lowered to the ground, now tethered to the mountain. It was at this point that all but three of the sorcerers passed out from exhaustion. Left standing was a fair haired druid woman, and Silias, both looking worse for wear, and Merlin, who seemed fine and only a bit tired. The tarw efydd began to pull at its tether.

Arthur watched how now the knights of Snowdonia began to move towards the restrained beast, albeit still cautiously. The barrier preventing Arthur and his men from interfering had long since fallen, but still nobody moved forward from his side.

The knights formed an arch approaching the tarw efydd slowly. The druid, Salias and Merlin were in the formation, breaking it up into thirds. The bull threw fire at one side, only for it to be blocked by one of the sorcerers and for the rest of the group to continue advancing. Once they were close enough those with swords- which were most of the knights- pulled them out, the sound of metal ringing echoed across the mountain.

It was at this moment that the beast began to buck and kick. Its horns threw one man into the air, only for him to crash back down with a sharp cry of pain. One of the druids on the side ran forward and began to examine him. It was obvious to Arthur that the druid was one of the healers Merlin talked about. Another man was kicked in the chest and sent to the ground, and one fell prey to the bull's tossing head, and was bat aside like a fly. It all happened in the time of a few seconds.

As one the swords became alight in blue flames- flying wildly in the strong wind- and were plunged into the bull, as close to the neck as they could manage. It occurred to Arthur that this was the one place where the armor-like plating did not cover the tarw efydd. It's one weakness. Only one sword managed to hit its mark, as the beast thrashed in madness. The sword directly under the bull's head, going through until the point was poking out of the sword was visible on the other end. The sword was pulled out, and the beast fell to the ground. It was still thrashing as Merlin ordered his men to back away quickly. And just as the bull began to light up in flames Merlin shot his hand out making a shield of blue that protected them. And the bull exploded, shards of its armor shooting out, and fire fighting hard to break through the shield it now encompassed.

Arthur was awed by the power that was obviously controlled by Merlin. His friend seemed to be struggling to fight against the force of the explosion, but he still was only beginning to show signs of exhaustion. The fire dissipated, and Merlin let the shield fall as he collapsed to his knees, panting. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. He seemed to sway in the wind. Arthur ran forwards.

"Merlin! Are you alright?" Merlin just closed his eyes and breathed for a moment before turning his bright blue eyes on him, and smiling.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired is all. The last time I had to use such powerful magic was when I fought Sigan, and that time I passed out." Arthur gave him a dubious look, "No really! I fine! Just tired. I'm actually I didn't pass out like the others. They're much more experienced than me."

"Uh huh. Right. What was that thing anyways? I've never seen one before."

"I wouldn't have expected you to. It was a tarw efydd, and to be honest I don't even know why it was here in the first place. They're not exactly mountain dwellers. But they are deadly. Speaking of, I need to be sure my knights are ok." As Merlin moved to get up Arthur grabbed his arm, pulling him back down.

"You're exhausted Merlin, you need to rest."

"I'm fine." Merlin snapped yanking his arm away. Arthur frowned at him, but let him go nonetheless, knowing that there was no way to keep Merlin from doing anything he had his mind set on doing. And to be true to himself, Arthur was still stunned by the display of pure power that had just taken place. He decided though, that Merlin just needed some time. Attributing hiss behavior to exhaustion.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Merlin was riding side by side with his most trusted knights. Jarret had come to not long after the tarw efydd had been defeated. He was still slightly slouched on his horse though. Jarret looked to Merlin before speaking up. "I don't know how you do it Merlin. I was ready to fall over as soon as we made the dome in the first place, and passed out as soon as the bull was tethered, but you just went through it like it was an everyday thing for you."

"Yeah, well… I was still rather tired, and honestly all I really want to do right now is sleep. And you did very well yourself."

"Yeah, I had to be dragged away so I wouldn't get caught in the explosion." Merlin gave him a sharp look.

"Along with four other druids who were all more experienced than you. What you did today was very powerful magic, more so than what you've normally used. Having passed out is nothing to be ashamed of. It simply means you pushed yourself almost beyond your limits, and you did it to protect people. You should be proud of yourself for being able to last as long as you did. Having not grown up immersed in magic as Silias and the druids were, it would be expected that it would affect you. And yet you lasted just as long as the others. That is not weakness. That is a show of great strength."

Jarret smiled at that, his confidence boosted. Wymer watched with a knowing look about him. He rubbed his horse's neck, whispering words into her ears. It was obvious that the mare was still tense from the fight earlier. He sat back up, and looked behind to where the druids were, before looking ack to Merlin. "How are the injured faring?"

Merlin met his eyes. "Blythe is healing well. He was lucky that his spine didn't break when he fell, and the druid's magic is speeding up the healing process, however he probably won't be able to fight in the battle now. Dawson has a nasty bruise and a fractured rib, but nothing too bad otherwise. Perhaps Hadden can heal his him better, but we won't find out until we get to the caves and he can see for himself. And Caldwell is sore, and having some troubles breathing. The kick to his chest was extremely hard, and should have killed him, but he will live. It's unlikely he will be able to fight though."

Wymer nodded. It was as he had expected. He watched the small falcon flying above them. The winds had died down now, and the bird was taking the chance to stretch its wings. He reminisced about times long ago when he was younger. Back then falcons were more common to see flying among men. Hawking had been a sport many participated in, and they were good for messengers as well. But that was also a time when magic was free in all the land. Looked to with awe and wonder instead of fear. He looked forward once again as Warrick spoke.

"So we're a few man down then. Just great." He seemed annoyed. Ileana was next to speak up.

"It's only three men Warrick. Yes I'm sorry they were injured, but it's not like it can be helped. It won't have much effect on the battle. And now we have more men who can help train the civilians going in to fight." Merlin smiled, nodding his head as he saw the logic in the statement.

Warrick sighed, "Yeah I guess you're right." He looked ahead. They had been riding for a while now, and the sun was sinking low to the ground now, casting long shadows ahead of them. Even with the darkening sky's though he could begin to make out a space between where the mountain they currently traversed met with another creating a narrow valley between them. "We're almost to the pass."

They all looked ahead, spotting the pass. It was still a little ways away, and they would have to continue travelling even after the moon appeared. The first screams from the wyrvens began to resonate across the mountains. Maurelle shifted in her saddle. "Merlin, are you going to be able to stay awake tonight? You're exhausted from the fight earlier."

Merlin looked to her and took a deep breath. "I have to. Kilgharrah the pass is too narrow for Kilgharrah to fly through, and there's no safe place for him to land close enough. I may be tired, but I have no chose. I can only hope the wyrvens won't bother us to much tonight." He looked ahead again, as Níl landed on his shoulder. He turned to the bird, "Fly ahead to the pass. Find The Order of the Ravens." The falcon flew ahead, and Merlin hoped The Order would understand that they were coming, but had been delayed. Merlin slouched in his saddle, trying to keep from dozing off.

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_**Alright this is important!**_

** I currently have a poll up that you should all vote on. Pretty much I want to know if you all want me to make this story longer and probably get darker, and have some... _other_ characters show up in the story.**

**Or do you want me to do a shorter story, and not have those other characters pop up, but rap this up with a few unanswered questions at the end, write a sequel, and have those characters pop up for totally different reasons in the sequel.**

**I know exactly how both options would go for the most part and this is pretty much all I can tell you without ruining it. The problem is I can't decide. So I'm asking all of you out there. And if you can't put something in the poll, you can leave a review for me with your answer. I'll be counting them all up after the next three or four chapter because both plots are the same up until then.**

**...**

**Takes deep breath. OK now that that's out of the way...**

**Just for those who were wondering, yes the wind on the mountains in this story was inspired by the wind knocking down trees outside my window. That and mountains tend to have really strong wind gusts anyways...**

**I'm not sure how happy I am with how the fight with the bull creature went. And for those who want to know _tarw efydd_ means bronze bull. At least that's what I was told so I could be wrong. But whatevs. No changing it now. ****And wow... I think this i the longest A/N I've written so far... **

**Anyways, hope you like it! And happy reading... or writing.**


	22. Chapter 21

**Well this chapter is shorter than I planned it... hmmm. Oh well, I'll give you all a nice long chapter for the next update as recompense. **

**But you can blame my laptop for this one. First my charger starts sparking. Sparking! It literally almost set my homework on fire. And then my computer died, while I was in the middle of writing a perfect part to this story.**

** :'( However I was able to convince my parents to pay extra to get my new charger shipped to the house in two days rather that two _weeks_. So I was able to get this up, but unfortunately I completely forgot the amazing piece I had written, that as luck has it was one of the only two thing I lost when my computer died. Stupid electronics. So it came out shorter than normal, otherwise it would have been at least 3,000 words on this one. **

**Well if you're done reading my rant, then enjoy the story.**

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It was a couple hours later that they reached the pass with small balls of light or flames floating along with them. They had been met immediately by the twenty druids from The Order of the Ravens, who immediately set about helping the exhausted group to get settled. Bedrolls were quickly laid out, but tents were left packed up since it was so dark, even with the magic lights flying around. As soon as everyone was settled the magicians put out their light spells one by one, leaving the job of lighting the area to the few fires around the pass.

Merlin was sitting by the largest fire, which also happened to be in the center most part of the pass. He was watching the sky's with as much focus as he could. The sounds of the wyrvens the only thing keeping him alert. Arthur sat down next to him. They sat in silence looking at the starry skies.

Merlin broke the silence. "Why aren't you sleeping?" Arthur looked at him, the moonlight bathing Merlin in a pale light that made it seem like he was glowing. Merlin continued to keep his head tilted to the sky, eyes darting back and forth following any shadow or movement; turning slightly towards every sound. But Arthur could still see his eyes droop every now and then before snapping back open.

"The same reason you aren't." That got Merlin to snort.

"So you're a dragonlord then? I didn't realize." Arthur could tell that Merlin's exhaustion was definitely having an effect on him.

"Well I am a Pen_dragon_. But no I didn't mean that. I meant I was going to stay up with you, since you obviously are too exhausted to keep yourself awake." Merlin glanced over as him.

"No I'm not." Arthur's lips turned up slightly.

"Oh yes, I can see you're managing just fine droopy eyes."

"Hey!" The laughter that followed was cut off by a wyrven screeching above them, as it flew down towards them. Merlin stood up and spoke."S'enthend' apokhorein nin epitello!" Arthur watched as the wyrven suddenly spread its wings enough to stop in the air. Its red eyes glowing in the light as it looked directly at Merlin before turning around and flying away. Arthur looked at Merlin who was still staring after the wyrven.

"Merlin, why is it that when you say those spells your voice changes. You sound absolutely ridiculous." Merlin fixed him with piercing blue eyes.

"It's not a spell. It's the dragon tongue."

"So you're speaking dragon."

"Yes." Arthur bit his lip.

"And I just called it ridiculous."

"Yes." They stared at each other until Merlin spoke up, "Don't worry I won't tell Kilgharrah." Arthur couldn't stop himself from laughing. Merlin sat back down and moved closer to the fire. They continued to talk for a while, Merlin looking to the sky's every now and then. However as it got later Arthur began to fall asleep. His eyes drooped and his head began to dip, it was because of this that he didn't notice Merlin had fallen asleep, laid out on the hard ground.

It was also at this moment that another wyvern flew in landing on the edge of the camp, and began to stalk towards the unsuspecting group.

On the other side of the camp, Níl woke up having sensed some form of danger. He listened and looked for the danger, but it was dark, and there was no sound. He flew to his master, and found him asleep. Merlin stirred as Níl tapped him with his beak. Merlin jumped up as a scream was heard from the edge of the camp. Níl hopped out of the way, before flying up to get a better view.

"Leoht!" The blue ball of light was enough to for Merlin to see the wyvern as it came stalked some of Camelot's soldiers. They were backing away slowly, to keep it from pouncing, but were soon pushed up against the mountain side. "Nun de ge dei s'eikein kai emois epe'essin hepesthai" However the wyvern didn't obey his order, and he felt dread fill him. He yelled a spell quickly as he ran forward, Arthur startling awake next to him. "Awendaþ eft wansæliga neat!"

The spell was enough to force the wyvern back a few steps and gain its attention. It turned towards Merlin and began to charge. Merlin knew if the wyvern charged now that it would trample the soldiers and knights lying on the ground between them. He quickly said another spell, "Ablinn ðu!" He ran forward once again as the wyvern flew back into a boulder. As he got closer he noticed that the wyvern was smaller than the others he had seen, confirming what he had feared. The wyvern was still very young, and because of that it could not be controlled. It was the same as with the youngest of dragons his father had once told him. It allowed the dragons to learn their mistakes themselves and make their own opinions about the world.

Merlin approached the wyvern that was now lying on its side. It was obvious that its wing was pinned to the ground by a large rock that had fallen in the crash. The wyvern screeched at him as he approached, and Merlin was very aware that its mother might come flying in an attempt to protect her young. But that was fine, at least he would be able to control the mother if she showed up.

Merlin came closer, ignoring the soldiers that Arthur was leading away behind him. He spoke softly to the wyvern trying to calm it down. He might not be able to order it, but the wyvern would still understand him. "Prókeitae entaksi. Ewua dven tha sas blapsei." He moved closer when the wyvern seemed to accept that he would not hurt him anymore, but the wyvern still watched him closely.

As Merlin reached over to look at the wyvern's trapped wing, it hissed and snapped at him, and Merlin back off. "Tha ithela ya na sas bvothési, alla échete kai toos phíloos móu epetétheike." The wyvern looked at Merlin and stopped trying to bite off his hand. "An mporó na sas bvothési, tha iste athésete autón ton tópo." Merlin hoped this would work, wyverns weren't smart, or literate for that matter, but they understood what was being said to a point. As his father had put it, 'wyverns won't understand what your but they'll know what you mean.' It had confused him, and he still didn't understand it, but for now speaking to the young wyvern seemed to be working, as it put its head on the ground, seemingly giving him permission to approach.

He used his magic to carefully lift the boulder from the wyverns wing and checked to make sure it wasn't injured. The wyvern lifted its head, noticing the lack of weight and stood up. It quickly flew away across the mountains, and Merlin sighed in relief. He was fully awake now because of his pounding heart and adrenaline, and he knew even if he wanted to he would not be falling asleep again tonight. He turned around, to be faced with Arthur and behind him half of the camp who he had woken up.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

They were riding down the mountain now; the thick fog keeping them closer together. Somewhere in front of them the sun was rising, and it's light made the mist seem to change from pink to orange and back again. There were more trees on this side of the mountain, but still not many up this high. Arthur thought he could hear a low rumbling nearby but he didn't know what it was. He reached over and nudged Merlin who was falling asleep on his horse… again. Merlin quickly sat bolt upright, eyes darting back and forth frantically before realizing everything was fine. Arthur sighed.

"Merlin if you're going to keep falling asleep in the saddle why don't we tie you up so you don't fall off?"

"No. No I'm fine. I can stay awake. I don't need to rest." Arthur looked behind him, where Wymer was riding, for help. Wymer nodded.

"He's right Merlin. You should rest. You should have slept as soon as you finished fighting off the tarw efydd, but staying up all night afterwards, and then fighting a wyvern… you're going to pass out from sleep deprivation and exhaustion if you don't sleep now. Especially when we get to the caves and you get mobbed by the people."

"I'll be fine."

Wymer frowned as he spoke, "You were always too stubborn Merlin, I see that hasn't changed, but right now you need to listen to me. When we get to the caves, your people need to see you strong, and alert, not looking like you'll tip over with the lightest breeze. They weren't very optimistic when we left; many have thought you to be killed by Unwin, after all this time. You might say you're fine, but 'fine' is not going to be good enough when your people see you. Right now the hope that you will return and will save them is the only thing keeping them fighting right now. You wouldn't want to let them down."

Merlin looked back at him, "Is it really that bad. Are they really losing hope?" Wymer nodded solemnly, and Merlin sighed before nodding his consent. "Alright, you can tie me down, so I can rest, but not until we break. Anyways, we should wait until the fog clears." Arthur and Wymer accepted this, and continued to talk to Merlin, in an attempt to keep him awake.

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**Alright then. So here are the translations to the spells and dragon speak. Just keep in mind that the last three on here are my own making and are probably not very accurate or grammatically correct, but at least I tried! The rest of them I got off of Merlin wikia.**

***S'enthend' apokhorein nin epitello: Depart from here**

***Leoht: Light**

***Nun de ge dei s'eikein kai emois epe'essin hepesthai: You must obey me, leave now.**

***Awendaþ eft wansæliga neat: Move back terrible beast**

***Ablinn ðu: you leave off**

***Prókeitae entaksi. Ewua dven tha sas blapsei: It is okay. I will not harm you.**

***Tha ithela ya na sas bvothési, alla échete kai toos phíloos móu epetétheike: I want to help you but you have attacked my friends**

***An mporó na sas bvothési, tha iste athésete autón ton tópo: If I can help you, you must leave this place.**

**Now that that's done with...**

**I KNOW THERE ARE MORE THAN SIX OF YOU READING THIS! I CHECKED! SO GO VOTE ON THE POLL!**

**...Achem... **

**Anyways... Tell me what you think. And happy reading and writing! **


	23. Chapter 22

**God this chapter took forever to write! 4,824 words, and I did it in two days! Ughh. But I'm a woman of my word and I promised you lot a wonderful, long chapter as recompense for that last one... I'm just lucky I had today off from school to finish it up. Although it was weird when I had a deja vu moment while writing it... Eh just one of my weird times that I see the future but I don't realize it I guess... Don't look at me like that. And no I'm not a seer. At least I don't think- Yes people have called me a seer before that doesn't mean anything!**

**Ah my sad attempts at trying to be funny. Probably not working out very well for me yet. But I really did have deja vu whilst writing this chapter, twice actually, but hey you learn to live with it.**

**Anyways I hope you like it. **

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Arthur had been talking with different people while Merlin slept on his horse. He had found out that the rumbling he had heard earlier was actually a waterfall that fed a river running down the mountain and through the city itself. He had talked to everyone he could, learning something knew from each person. The druids would tell him about magic, legends, and a lot about nature, (except for the one from the Order of the Ravens, who didn't really say much at all). The knights of Snowdonia were more than happy to talk about their kingdom and its people, and had many great tales of victories against unlikely odds. Some talked about why they became a knight, and some even seemed comfortable enough to talk about their families.

Arthur had gotten to know Merlin's inner circle of knights, learning their names and their weapon choses. He learned how all of them had been offered knighthood by Merlin or one of his brothers themselves, except for Wymer. He had learned more about Wymer as well. The knight seemed to be much of a mystery to most of the people. Supposedly he had become a knight three years after the Great Purge had begun, and was the only person to win in a spar with the deceased King Balinor before becoming a knight. There seemed to be many rumors circulating about him, but none seemed to know much about him. Some said he was a druid, but no one had found the tell-tale mark; the triskellion. Some said he had been a warrior before the Purge. There was even one rumor that the Purge was responsible for the death of his wife.

Arthur remembered when they had been on the training field, and the older knight had whispered something in Merlin's ear. He had seen the way that Merlin had looked to him with something akin to curiosity and confusion. It troubled Arthur that to fight among someone who no one knew much about, but at the same time he felt he could trust him. It was an odd feeling for him.

He had also learned more about the other knights. How Maurelle had often found those few spies sent by Unwin, or assassins. It just justified Arthur's belief in her ability to see right through to a person's soul. He learned that Ileana was like the older sister to most of the knights and children in the town. She would be the one who would listen while you spilled out all your problems, and then tell you exactly what you needed to get yourself back up.

He learned that Jarret and Silias were two of the best knights that used magic, and that they were normally paired together for infiltration. Jarret with a spear and Silias with a dagger infused with magic. Arthur had learned much about Merlin as well; how he had always been the one to lift someone up, when they were down. How he would show up just when all hope seemed lost. He had learned how Merlin was always sneaking off into the forest, and the knights would be sent to find him. How he had once been seen _petting _a _deer. _That had been cause for a rumor of how Merlin could communicate with animals had been started. Arthur wouldn't be surprised if it proved true.

He had also heard a story of how Merlin had once made it snow by during the _Summer,_ just because he wanted to have a snowball fight. There was even one story that Merlin had once seen the web of magic, and although he didn't know what that was, the knight had made it sound like it was very impressive. He had also learned that Merlin had at least ten different names that he had been called by different people over the years. Merlin hadn't been joking when he said Myrrdin was only one of many names.

He looked over to the sleeping form of Merlin once again. He had been surprised when the horse he rode had simply followed their lead. He wondered if it was enchanted or was just that well trained. Ileana rode up next to him, and looked at Merlin as well, "We should wake him up."

Arthur nodded, and carefully nudged Merlin who groaned and opened his eyes. He blinked, trying to sit up before remembering he was tied down. His eyes flashed gold and the ropes fell to the ground. He sat up, stretched his arms and yawned, rubbing his eyes. He looked over at Arthur, "How long did I sleep?"

"Oh I don't know… You fell asleep at midday and now it's an hour past dusk, so about five hours I'd say."

"Really? It seems like I only just fell asleep."

Ileana spoke this time, startling Merlin as he hadn't noticed he before, "Yeah, well as much as we all want you to get more rest, we're going to be to be at the caves in soon, and we need you fully awake."

"Yeah, I wonder what the people will think when they see me again."

"I don't know, but you're probably going to attract a lot of attention. When we left to find you most of the people thought it would be useless and that you were dead. They really are losing hope."

Merlin shook his head. "They've never given up before. They've always been so strong." Arthur raised an eyebrow, but decided to stay quiet this time, and just listen.

Ileana spoke up, "You have to remember Merlin, they've never felt so lost before. They've seen Unwin kill two of our kings now, first Balinor and now Raymond. They witnessed him run you out of the kingdom, and take over the city. They think you to be dead, and for them to have Warrick as their only ruler when he is only fifteen, and you know that the youngest our kingdom has ever allowed any man to rule at has been eighteen, and that was with Raymond. They consider Warrick to young, even if he shows that he could be a proper ruler. Most of them are at the point of thinking that our kingdom has come to an end."

Merlin was looking down the mountain at the end of the speech. He seemed to be thinking and his eyes were set with determination. Arthur wondered what he was thinking.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

It was another hour later that they reached the caves, using magic to light the path once again. Merlin had been the first to enter, followed by Warrick then Arthur. They had been immediately stopped by three knights pointing swords at their necks. It was only second later that they gasped and fell to their knees bowing to Merlin, with cries of 'sire', and 'milord'. It had taken less than that second for Merlin to reach down and pull them up, rapping them in a hug, and berating them for using titles. Arthur laughed at the sight.

They had gone rather far into the caves until Merlin stopped them all. He went through the crowd of people coming back with four others in tow. Arthur recognized them as druids from when he had talked to them earlier; He looked questioningly at Merlin.

Merlin looked back at him, "Might I introduce to you Bevan from the Elder Clan, Myrna from the Oak Tribe, Oscar from the Hazel Clan and Vevina from The Order." When Arthur still didn't catch on Merlin sighed and explained, "I can't take everyone with us any further into the caves until we have a place for them. The caves are vast enough to hold everyone, but we still like to keep order; anyways that many people suddenly coming in would probably scare everyone, especially any children. However you, my knights and our druid representatives here are going to come with me, and see just how well off my people are. I'm going to give a speech, and you lot are going to stand behind me to show my people just how many supporters they have." He waved them forward and the, now much smaller group, started off again.

It wasn't much further before they entered a large chamber filled with people moving about. At first nobody noticed the people being escorted by the group of knights, but soon they began to move to the side and watched them as they passed. Merlin looked around at his people, and a gasp was heard as they moved. The entered what Arthur could only describe as, an over-sized hallway, that lead to another chamber. This time the people in the chamber noticed them immediately, but that could have just been because of the crowd of people following them from the last chamber.

This continued on, with the ever present whispers behind them resonating off the cave's walls. Arthur was able to pick out some of what they were saying. 'Is it really him?', 'Is that the king?', 'I heard Unwin killed him.', 'He looks the same.', 'He ran away! How can he help us now.', 'We all thought him dead.' To be honest it unnerved him, especially when he would catch the occasional, 'Who's that blond one with him?' He had to fight not to fidget under the stares he was getting, and it looked like Merlin was to. But Merlin was also taking it better than Arthur, nodding to his people, acknowledging anyone and everyone. They had gone through six chambers, picking up more people to add to the parade as they went, when a young boy of about ten years old broke through the crowds, and tugged on Merlin's shirt, causing him to stop walking.

Merlin smiled and crouched down to him, "Hello there."

The boy bit his lip looking slightly nervous before asking, "Is it really you? Are you King Merlin? Have you come to help us?"

"Yes. I am. And I'm going to help you get home, and I'm never going to let it get taken away again." The boy smiled brightly and hugged Merlin before running off to a woman, presumably his mother. The woman smiled at Merlin, who nodded back, a smile still on his lips. Arthur couldn't help but smile as well when the incident was repeated. It wasn't long before everyone was reaching out to at least touch Merlin, like they needed reassurance that he wasn't a ghost. Merlin managed to take it all in stride.

Although there were some incidents were someone would come up and accuse Merlin of being a coward and running away. Leaving them to Unwin's non-existent mercy. Arthur had visibly flinched the first time, and he recalled had Merlin had handled the situation. It was much different than he had with Uther.

_Flashback:_

"_You're a coward! A deserter! You left us. You let us think you were dead and you left us! How could you?! How can you come back here after what you did?!" The man had come out of nowhere._

_Merlin's eyes darkened, and his muscles tensed. I prepared for a repeated of his reaction to my father, when _he _had said that. Merlin spoke, "I am truly sorry that you thought me to be dead, that is not what I wanted. But know that I left to protect you and the rest of the people from Unwin. I led him away and suffered for six months being hunted by him. And afterwards I was not able to return here, or else those many months would have been for naught." The man seemed surprised by the words, and before he could speak again, two of Merlin's knights gently pulled him away._

_End flashback:_

Now Arthur watched as Merlin spoke reassurances to the people who came up to him, as he walked on. And soon, after having done through about eight chambers, they entered the largest one Arthur had yet to see. It actually almost looked like it might pass as a really large ball room. at the back was a large, flattened piece of rock that was raised above the rest of the room. There were some benches along the walls that some older people were sitting on, along with injured knights. Merlin led them up on to the rock in the back, and suddenly Arthur realized exactly what its purpose was, as the people surrounded the stage.

Arthur, Warrick, and the druid representatives stood behind Merlin on the stage. Silently showing their support. The knights made a line in front of the stage, baring the people from getting to the king. It showed that they, at least, knew that there were some people who were less than happy with Merlin right now.

Once everyone was settled in the chamber, which surprisingly still had plenty of room even after being filled with over a hundred people, Merlin raised a hand and the people fell silent. Merlin looked around at the people before speaking, his magic amplifying his voice enough to be heard clearly.

"I… I can't tell all of you, how much it means to be able to see you all again. I've spent the last three years, believing that should I have ever return that Unwin would attack in his vengeance to kill me. But now because of my mistake he has attacked you to get to me; the very thing I had hoped to prevent. So now I stand here, and I look at all of you; my people, friends, family, and I see determination! Courage! Strength! And it makes me proud." He looked around making eye contact with as many as he could. "But I also see, in so many of you, desperation. I see you giving up." He paused for but a moment. "I know that I have not been here for you. I was not there when you needed me most. That many of you had lost all hope of me returning, but I am here now, and I'm not leaving.

"I know that this is the closest you have ever been to being without a sure way to fight back against our enemies. But now we have allies once again, and that worry is gone." Merlin looked to the back of the room, where the old or injured sat on the provided benches.

"I realize that this is hard for all of you to keep moving on; to keep fighting. But who ever said it was going to be easy? I understand that many of you have lost loved one's already. And I understand that it hurts, and it's going to; I won't lie… Sometimes you're going to feel like you're at the bottom of a cliff; trying to climb up but losing your step. But that's _no_ excuse to stop trying!

"Don't stop believing, because anything is possible until you lose hope. We will win this battle, and I'll tell you why. We'll win because we fight as equals! In the past, kings have sent their people out to fight for them. That is what Unwin will do. But I stand with you! Not as your king, but as your friend, and brother. We are all family in this. And it's not just me! Prince Arthur fights with you as well! The _druids _fight with you! Even Kilgharrah, the Great Dragon!"

Gasps of astonishment echoed around the cave, and Merlin waited for them to quiet. "We fight as equals! As family! What we have here… This is why we will _never_ fail! Today I make a promise to you! We will take back our home! And we will rebuild it together!"

Cheers rung throughout the cave and in the distance Arthur thought he heard a dragon roar. It was not long before the people began chanting, 'long live the king', and Arthur could see the new found hope and determination in the people of Snowdonia. Their eyes showed with pride, and loyalty, and Arthur couldn't help but smile.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

It was a few hours later that the Arthur's knights, and soldiers had been given a number of empty chamber to stay in, that had all been connected by 'hallways' to the main chamber, as Arthur had found out the room with the stage had been called. Arthur wandered around, sometimes being stopped by children, and Arthur couldn't help but smile and laugh, as he answered their questions, like he had seen Merlin do earlier.

Eventually he came to the chamber holding the twenty knights of Snowdonia. He nodded in greeting to the knights that he had spent the last week with as they travelled here. He moved through the only other 'hallway' leading from there, and entered a smaller chamber, big enough for four people to sleep comfortably in, and have plenty of space to move around. However it was only occupied by two people; Merlin and Warrick.

They looked up from a map, they were studying on the ground, as Arthur spoke, "This place isn't a cave Merlin, it's a cavern. Get your terms right."

Merlin laughed, startling Níl who sat on his shoulder, "I suppose you're right, but technically speaking a cavern is a series of caves, so I can still call this place the caves."

Arthur brows rose as if to say, '_really_?', while Merlin just grinned. "That was quite the speech you gave earlier; very impressive. I don't think there's another person in here that is still questioning you."

"Is that a compliment? I'm starting to think you're becoming ill Arthur. That's the second compliment in almost the same amount of days. You've been surprisingly nice, and dare I say it, _concerned-_"

"I have not bee-"

"-and you haven't insulted me! Not once! I should have one of the healers take a look at you. Make sure you don't have a fever-"

"Will you shut-up Merlin, and stop being such a _girl_!"

Merlin stopped talking and Warrick just looked on in amusement. Merlin suddenly smiled, "Maybe I don't have to take you to the healers after all."

Arthur just stared and shook his head in disbelief. Warrick laughed, before breaking up the moment, "As great as all this is, we really should be figuring out how we're going to get into the city and get Unwin, out of there."

Merlin's smile faded. "That's going to be hard enough as it is, not to mention Morgana and Morgause."

Arthur frowned, "Couldn't we just go in through the underground tunnels." He pointed at the red lines overlapping the black on the map.

Merlin shook his head. "Unfortunately not. Unwin was a smuggler before our knights managed to catch them. Of course Unwin escaped with his son, but because of his former line of work he knows the tunnels almost as well as us. There are a few that he doesn't know about, but they all end up intersecting the tunnels that he will know. And even then, it's possible that there are tunnels that he knows about that were installed after the maps were made. The whole place has yet to be charted since most of them were already there when the castle was built."

Arthur sighed, "I see what you mean about difficult then… Where's the weakest part of the wall?"

Warrick pointed to section of wall by the main gate on the south side, "This is where Unwin's sorcerer blew up the wall, but we've been told that he has rebuilt it and reinforced it with magic. There's no telling how strong it is, but it's still probably very weak." He paused then pointed to another section of wall that was on the east side, at the bottom of the mountains. Arthur saw a dotted line that went through it and through the city. "This is probably still the weakest place though. It's where the mountain river flows into the city. There's an arched bridge over it serving as the outer wall, but there are bars blocking entry."

Merlin rubbed his face, "I might be able to bend the bars, so we could enter, but we would only be able to enter one at a time, and we would be open to attack from any guards on the bridge. My magic might also attract attention if Morgause senses it. I don't think she will though, she hasn't figured out what that 'something about me' is yet, even after having faced me a few times as it is."

"Is there any other way to get in? Anyway at all?"

Merlin shared a look with Warrick, before sighing. "It might work, but there is a great risk of being caught, and anyone with magic would sense it immediately, no matter who it was. And if I did it, I would only be able to bring one other person with me."

"Well what is it?"

"We could teleport… but it's dangerous, and there's no telling exactly where we would end up. The thing with teleportation is that you have to picture exactly where you want to go, and if you're even slightly off, you could end up anywhere."

Arthur looked confused. "What do you mean anywhere."

Merlin pinched his nose before dropping his head and explaining, "Imagine that I wanted to teleport to the waterfall up the mountain. And let's say that when I pictured it I was wrong about how large the space was. I might end up not coming out on the ground but in the air, three feet off the edge of the cliff. I'd end up falling and- you get the idea. The point is if I'm even slightly off, we could end up stuck half way _in_ a wall of a building, or landing quite literally in a hole. Not to mention it's powerful magic to carry more than one person, and can be rather exhausting. It's not like it's very discreet either, you remember Mary Collins right?"

Arthur nodded; he remembered that incident very well. It was what led to Merlin being his manservant after all. He thought about the idea of teleporting before speaking, "If we did teleport… what are the chances that we would have enough time to find our bearings and open the gates to the city?"

"It would depend on where we teleported to. How close we are to the gate and what not. And the magic would still bring enough notice to Morgause, she'll know when we enter and she'll know _where._ There wouldn't be much time. There would have to be a distraction. Something using or having more magic than the spell would use."

"Is there anyone here that has that powerful of magic?"

"Only me, and nobody seems to be able to sense it anyways… wait, no. Kilgharrah's presence would definitely block out the power of the spell. And he would definitely be able to prove quite the distraction for anyone who didn't have magic as well. The problem will be when Unwin realizes that there is still a dragon alive. He knows I'm a dragonlord, and he'll take precautions against it. No doubt he'll have already prepared for defending against wyverns. He's seen me call upon them before. But if he sees Kilgharrah, he'll become much more cautious."

Warrick spoke up this time, "But he won't know that you've grown more powerful."

"We can't be sure about that Warrick. I think he might have figured out exactly who I am; that I'm Emrys. When we were in our game of cat and mouse those months, I had to work to avoid quite a few druids, and I know that they sensed me nearby. I also know that Unwin must have come across them at some point and if he heard them talking about Emrys whenever he got close enough… He may be a coward, but he's not stupid. He would have put two and two together."

Arthur bit his lip. "So we're facing an enemy who will know that you have power, and that you can control wyverns, and had most likely protected against it."

"Yes."

"And right now, since Morgana and Morgause have warned them about us, the druids, and Kilgharrah are the only ones that he wouldn't have known about, or protected against."

"Yes."

"This is a difficult position we're in."

"…Yes."

"Will you quit saying yes to everything I say!"

Merlin stared at Arthur, before looking back at the map, "Sorry." Warrick shook his head, he swore that he had no idea how the two managed not to take each other's heads off by now.

They sat in silence before Merlin spoke up. "What's Unwin's crest this time?"

"That has nothing to do with this Merlin. Stay on task." Arthur nearly shouted, but Merlin only shook his head.

"No Arthur, it has a lot to do with this. Unwin changes his crest almost every time he attacks, and each time that is the key to knowing how he'll act."

"I've never heard that before Merlin."

Warrick spoke this time, "He's right actually. There's nothing that goes without meaning. Every color, animal, symbol or object has some kind of symbolism, and knowing them can help you to predict you enemies motives. You know their motives, then you're a step closer to finding their weakness. After all, their greatest strength comes from what motivates them the most." He paused and turned to Merlin. "It's a red lion head roaring to the sky, with a black background."

Merlin thought on it for a moment, before laughing. "It would be him who would choose the most ironic animal as a crest, yet have rather accurate colors. Black the color of grief, red for military strength. But the lion! The lion is an animal of courage and bravery!" Arthur just stared, while merlin laughed, he still didn't understand the point of this.

Finally Merlin stopped laughing, and wiped away a tear before speaking. "Alright well the lion also symbolizes ferocity. So put that with strength and we know that he as well as his army, and we know he'll attack with bloodlust and brutality… And we know that his motives are still for his son and wife."

Arthur broke in, "I still don't see how you're getting this from what everything on a crest symbolizes."

Merlin blinked, "Well think about it this way, there's a reason why someone chooses a specific crest, whether they know the symbolism behind it or not, just like there's a reason that a knight chooses to give his or her loyalty to the kingdom that they believe shares their beliefs. For example, the crest of Camelot; A dragon symbolizes valour and protection; the valiant defender. Red as I said before is military strength, and gold is the color for generosity. Would you not say that these qualities hold true to you and most if not all of your knights, and soldiers?"

Arthur gaped, because it was true. Those qualities did describe him and his knight rather accurate, frighteningly accurate. He opened and closed his mouth not being able to figure out exactly what to say. Merlin spoke again, "If someone were to know those facts about Camelot, then they would know that your warriors would be strong, but fight with nobility; that there would be no knight that would fight dirty, or kill from behind. And they would know that you were motivated by your desire to protect and defend the people of Camelot… Are you beginning to understand?"

Arthur nodded, because yes, he was beginning to understand, and he was surprised that he had never thought of something like this long ago. He noticed how each of the meanings of the crest was somehow put into context. He actually found it rather amazing that someone could learn what to expect in a fight, and what a person's motives were, just by learning the meaning of the crest.

Warrick broke in again, and Arthur began to wonder why it was always Merlin's younger brother who was bringing them back to the task at hand, "Since you understand that now, we should probably figure out exactly what are plan is, because if either of you haven't noticed, we have ideas, but not an actual plan." Merlin blinked and began to give more ideas, and trash others that wouldn't work because of Morgause, or Unwin, or Morgana. Arthur added in any ideas he had formed from stories he remembered the Snowdonian knights telling him about, and Warrick would bring up all he could think of about the city's defenses, which would be the weakest and the strongest, and the where Unwin would have the most guards. They also added in the weapon factor. Since they had quite the variety among the knights, and soldiers from Snowdonia, they had to choose the best areas each man would be best placed. They also had to consider all the citizens that were going to fight as well. By the end of the night however, they had a plan.

* * *

**Well I can officially say my fingers might be ready to fall off now, and for those who were wondering about the thing with the crests, yes I checked they actually mean everything that I said in the story. Which is kind of scary how accurate they were with Camelot's crest, and how easy it was to connect that to everything else.**

**And if you really, really want to know, and just don't want to go find out yourself...**

**Snowdonia's crest means: Blue- truth and loyalty; Sliver/white- peace and serenity; and the griffin- valour, death-defying bravery, and vigilance. **

**And yes I came up with the crest _before _looking up the meaning, and with how spot on I was with what I hoped would represent Snowdonia and Merlin the best, I find that kind of scary. Although I did chose Unwin's crest to be what it was specifically for the irony and what the colors meant, I didn't even remember that the lion also meant ferocity until I was writing this and that just made it all the better.**

**But I'm rambling on again, and you probably want to get on with your life so...**

**Review, _vote on the poll because it determines the fate of this story,_ and happy reading and writing! XD**


	24. Chapter 23

**Alright so I got another relatively long (by my standards which apparently isn't very long) chapter for you. I hope you all like it to, because I spent all day working on it because I wasn't home yesterday. **

**So enjoy!**

* * *

"So, Merlin, what are we doing exactly?" Merlin rolled his eyes, he had just explained this a minute ago. Apparently Arthur hadn't been paying very much attention.

"_You _should probably practice with your sword, and see if you can join in a spar with some of my knights. They might be able to give you some tips. _I _am going to make sure that all the citizens, that plan to fight, have the weapons and anything else that they need to fight. Then we are going to find them all knights that can teach them to use the weapons properly."

"Oh." Arthur responded as they walked through yet another set of chambers and hallways, as they had now been officially called, towards the training area. According to Merlin there was an actual field _in_ the caves that had a brook flowing by on the side of it. Arthur didn't really believe it, even after Merlin had explained more.

_ Flashback:_

"_That's not possible. It's too cold and dark, for anything to grow in here. Not to mention the ground is rock, I mean we're on a _mountain!_ There aren't many trees out there, and you expect me to believe that there's a field?"_

"_That's where you're wrong Arthur. You see that part of the caves collapsed at some point in the past. But because of it, there are holes in the top of the chamber there. It allows enough sunlight, and warm air, water, etc. to make it into the chamber for at least grass to grow. A few flowers in the spring as well. And I don't really know how, but the ground there is actually very fertile soil. My mother used to say that was a result of the river next to it, and something about the dragon's using some kind of magic."_

"_I'll believe it when I see it."_

"_Well then you should start warming up to the idea, because we're going to see it now."_

_ End Flashback:_

Now they were almost there, and Arthur could hear the sounds of rushing water, off to his right. He looked over to see that there was a cliff on his side. He took a few step closer and looked down, there was a river flowing through at the bottom. And on the walls next to it, he saw little glimmers of light bouncing around. He ran to catch back up with Merlin, and a few minutes later, Arthur's mouth dropped to see a large field, with bits of light shining through large gaps in the ceiling. A brook was flowing off to the side, and knights, soldiers, and citizen sparring with one another, or shooting arrows at targets, or practicing on practice dummies. It was exactly what Merlin had said it was.

He immediately closed his mouth when he saw Merlin looking at him with a smug look. Instead he walked on to the field and studied the people training. He was surprised to see some of his own men there as well, but the moment passed, because of course they would have found out where to practice their sword work. At the same time he also came to the conclusion that the people of Snowdonia were used to having to come to the caves, and that they must have been attacked a lot, because why else would they supply the area with plenty of targets, and practice dummies, and benches. There was even a store of weapons over to one side. And actually the chamber looked like any other training field at any other castle, and if he hadn't known that they were in a cave still, he might think that they _were_ outside.

He startled when someone called his name, looking over to find Leon walking his way. He looked behind him to say something to Merlin, but he wasn't there. He looked back to Leon, "Hey, did you see where Merlin went?"

Leon shook his head, "No, I didn't. Did he come with you?"

"Yeah."

"Well I'm sure he'll show up again… Can you believe this place? Not just this field, but the whole cavern. It's almost like a castle, what with all the chambers."

Arthur snorted, "More like a maze. If I didn't have Merlin showing me around everywhere I would be lost by now. It took me forever just to find where he and Warrick were staying last night. I had to ask for directions eight times, before I found them. Anyways, have you sparred with any of Snowdonia's knights yet?"

Leon nodded, "Yeah a couple, they put up a good fight. I only managed to beat one of them, and he had only become a knight a few months ago."

"Skilled then; Merlin told me to practice with them… Did they say anything to you afterwards? You know give you any advice."

"One of them did, Maven I think his name was. He told me that if I watch the eyes then I can predict where the body will go, but if I watch the sword I will only see where the sword goes… I tried watching the eyes of the next knight that I fought, that was the knight that I managed to beat."

"I'll have to remember that." Arthur looked around, "Any ideas for where I should start?"

Leon pointed to a large knight who was practicing using a claymore on a practice dummy; a flail hanging from his hip. "That's Langston, he's one of the few knights that use a claymore. From what I hear, most of the soldiers in Unwin's army are using them, and he fights similar to the way they do. I haven't fought him, but apparently he's one of the best they have."

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When Merlin realized that Arthur wasn't going to be coming out of his trance anytime soon, he walked away, figuring that he would be fine on his own. He went over to where a group of people were standing off to the side, and watching the training. He spoke up when no one noticed him, "Are you lot going to just stand there and watch? Or are you planning on joining them for yourselves?"

To say the people were startled was an understatement. A few of them paled, and one jumped a foot in the air, and as soon as they realized who it was they began to bow. Merlin immediately stopped them, "No bowing, no titles, you understand? When I said we fight as equals last night, I fully meant it. We are fighting together in this. From here on out, I am your brother in this, just as you are my brothers and sisters." They nodded, but still seemed apprehensive, and Merlin sighed. "Listen, I know you all knew me before. I'm sure you haven't forgotten. I'm still the same crazy boy, running through the lower towns chasing chickens with the kids. I'm still the same person that would come down in his spare time and help make repairs, or carry a sack of flour to the bakers. I haven't changed, but for the fact that I've seen more of the world."

Some of the people relaxed at this, and Merlin felt the corners of his mouth begin to turn upwards. He hoped the rest of the group would relax more as time went on, and realize that he really was still the same person. He led them over to where the weapons were set up on stands or tables, before turning to the group and speaking. "Alright. Let's get you what you need shall we? We'll start with anyone who needs a sword." Five people stepped forward from the group, and lined up. It was the way they always had them go through the process of getting weapons. And the people knew what to do by memory since they would have to repeat it every time; the weapons being only loans.

Merlin talked to each one, making sure he knew he knew if the used one hand or two, if they normally used a single edged, or double edged blade, and if it was light weight or heavy. He also made sure to ask if they had a preference of the type of sword; whether it was a broadsword, or a falchion, or long sword, there were plenty to go around. Each sword varied in size, weight and make, and was handed out in a first come first serve process, so not everyone got the same weapon twice.

It was about an hour later that twenty people were testing their loaned weapons and making sure that they felt right using them. Two had long swords, one wielded a scimitar, three had a broadsword, two were swinging battle axes, a few were testing out slings, some had crossbows, or knives, and the rest (the youngest one's) were holding different pole-arms. When they all agreed that they thought the weapons were good, he led them over to where three knights were sitting on benches.

The knights stood up as he came over and met him in the middle. The group behind Merlin split up into groups depending on their weapon. He spoke to the knights, "How are your ribs healing Dawson?"

"They're getting better. Hadden was able to speed up the healing process, but I still won't be able to fight."

"But you can still help out. What about you Carnell? I heard that Unwin's sorcerer hit you hard with a fire ball."

"Yeah, luckily it only skimmed my back, and it's healing quickly."

"Good, good. Egbert? Jackson? You were caught in the collapse of the wall. How are you doing?"

"We're good. Hadden wants us to rest so we don't over strain ourselves, but he's permitted us to tutor the townspeople."

Merlin nodded, "Alright, well then we have a good group today. Dawson can you teach them to use their swords?" Dawson nodded. "Good. Jackson you can help the slings right? And Egbert can teach crossbow." They nodded. "Carnell you can work with axes right?" Carnell gave a soldier's salute, which made them all laugh. "Great, I'll leave you to it then."

Merlin turned back to the group of people. "Alright, those of you with pole-arms follow me, the rest stay here for your lessons." He led the townspeople with pole-arms over to where a group of soldiers were training. He stopped them a few feet away and scanned the soldiers, looking for one person in particular. When Merlin found him he was laughing with another soldier, he called him over, "Harding!" The soldier looked over, a smile on his face, and hazel eyes sparkling with mirth. Harding walked over.

"Oh, Merlin Kendall just told the best joke! But anyways, what do you need?"

"You mind teaching this group to use their pole arms properly? We don't need them to have them ripped right out of their hands during the battle."

"No problem." Harding looked over at the nervous group before frowning slightly. "Younger group huh? I think this might be their first battle… good you have them starting on pole-arms… I hate people like Unwin for this though. These kids shouldn't have to see what war is like until their older. I didn't join until I was twenty myself, and what are they? Fifteen? Sixteen?"

Merlin glanced back, frowning as well. "Yeah, I think so… You're right; they shouldn't have to do this. I mean we're not forcing them, but still. I might have been that age when I was knighted, but that was because of me being a prince. And even then, I had already seen more then I should have at that age." He sighed and shook his head.

Harding gave Merlin a pat on the back, "Well I better go teach them how to use those properly then shouldn't I?" Merlin smiled, and left Harding to teach the group. He walked for a while before finding exactly who he was looking for. Arthur.

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Arthur blocked the downwards cut of Langston's claymore, forcing their blades to cross. The fight had been going on for a while now, and sweat was dripping down his face. He struggled to fight back against Langston, as each pushed their swords towards each other. Arthur had learned a lot in this fight so far, starting with the claymore is a really heavy sword, and as such it makes the strikes come all the faster, and harder. He had also learned that the movements that Langston could make with the sword were limited as well because of its size and weight. He pushed harder, his muscles straining. He had also learned that Langston was very, very strong.

Langston smirked at Arthur, "Is that all you got? Come on, I know babes who put up more of a fight!" Normally Arthur would have been driven to fight harder at the taunt, but Merlin's words came to mind. '_Ignore your opponent's jibes and taunts,' _and that's exactly what he did. As Langston pushed harder as they fought for dominance, Arthur pulled his sword back and side stepped as Langston followed his sword to the ground.

Arthur kicked the claymore out of reach, with difficulty, but still he managed it. Langston rolled onto his back a fist coming toward Arthur. He stopped the punch with one hand, and placed the sword ant Langston's neck with the other. They both panted with excursion. Arthur let go of Langston's fist and removed his sword from his neck, sliding it into his scabbard, before reaching out a hand to help Langston up.

They both smiled, and Langston clapped Arthur on the back, "That was a good fight Prince Arthur. It will be an honor to fight with you on the battlefield."

Arthur let out a few more heavy breaths, before speaking "As it will be mine." They shook hands, only now noticing the circle of people around them. They both were startled, however, when a voice broke out behind them.

"I see you took my advice." Arthur spun around, only to be faced with whom else but Merlin. "That was a very good fight. Granted I only saw part of it, but from what I did see I can tell it was good. Langston isn't easy to beat" He looked to Langston, "Nor is Arthur, and I can tell you almost had him for a minute there. You both fought very well."

Arthur smirked, "Yeah, I did take your advice, it was one of those times you actually displayed a kind of wisdom."

Merlin scowled, "Don't be such a prat."

"Then don't be such an idiot."

"Clotpole!"

"Dollop-head!"

"That's my word you bugbear!"

"Well you're a… a Merlin!"

"...That's my name."

"Exactly, and I pity the person who shares it- hey! Put me down!" The surrounding people, laughed at the prince, who now was levitating off the ground and upside-down, while their king's eyes glowed gold.

"Not until you admit that my name is _NOT_ an insult!" Arthur scowled.

"Fine. Your name is not an insult. Happy?"

"Yes." Merlin's eyes glowed gold again, and Arthur fell to the ground, head first. This resulted in Arthur getting up and chasing Merlin around the training field, until Merlin tripped and Arthur grabbed him and gave him a noogie. The people around them laughing and smiling at their antics.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

It was just after midday, when Merlin, a group of knights, and soldiers, and Arthur had begun to journey down the mountain and to the southern forest. Now it was dusk, and they were deep within the woods, searching for one of Unwin's forest patrol. It wasn't long before they finally found one, and their plan began to be put into action. They trailed the patrol for a while, long enough to learn the names of each of the people in the patrol. And soon enough, two of the guards left the rest to go take a bathroom break.

Merlin peaked his head around the tree they were hiding behind, and whispered a quick spell, "Swefe nu." The men immediately fell to the ground, and Merlin and Arthur moved forward. They changed into the guards clothing, and armor; the helmets covering their faces, while Jarret and his group tied up and gagged the guards before dragging them away.

Merlin and Arthur soon joined up with the rest of the guards in that patrol, and easily took up the roll of the people they had replaced. After a couple hours, the patrol reentered the city, and were replaced with another group.

Immediately after passing the main gate, they went over a large bridge that crossed a wide river, which flowed freely throw the city. There were bridges across the river in intervals so people could cross. After the bridge the road split in two, moving to either side of what appeared to be an inn and tavern. They took the path to the right, following the rest of the guards. The road slowly curved back around until it met up with another, which Arthur remembered was actually the road that went to the left at the tavern; having studied the map of the city.

Another road branched off where the two connected and led through one of the gates to the inner wall of the city. They followed the road straight until they came to the castle's wall, and entered through the gates there. And Arthur had to wonder, _why are there so many walls and gates?_ He resolved to ask Merlin later. The group entered the castle and immediately turned down a corridor to their left. Merlin spoke to Arthur telepathically, "_They're heading towards the chambers for the castle guard… There's a tapestry of griffin, across from the hallway they'll be turning at. When we get there, stop and touch the griffin's claws. And don't say anything, and don't move. "_ Luckily Arthur's only reaction to the voice in his head was a subtle twitch, and a small nod.

When they came to the tapestry, Merlin and Arthur touched it, and waited until the guards turned another corner and moved out of view. Merlin moved back and moved the tapestry to reveal a door. Arthur raised his eye-brows but didn't say anything. Merlin pulled a key that was tied around his neck free, and unlocked the door, eyes glowing gold at the same time. It opened up to a set of stairs and Merlin waved Arthur in. Once the door closed, Merlin summoned a ball of light and began to speak.

"Well now that we're here-"

"Where is _here_ exactly?" Arthur began to walk up the spiral stairs, followed by Merlin. "You didn't tell me anything about this before."

"That's because I'm the only one that knows about it, the only other people who knew about it was my father, mother, and Raymond. I never got around to telling Warrick, and I didn't want to have that whole conversation with him at this time. Also I didn't know if we were going to be passing by here anyways… This is a secret way to my old chambers, and before I left I created a magical barrier around my entire room. Nothing and no one would be able to enter unless I removed the spell, while unlocking it with my key at the same time, except for Raymond or Warrick. The windows are closed and pretty much glued in place, and the actual entrance to my room has the same spell as the one here, except stronger."

"I thought you said you didn't know any strong spells when before you came to Camelot."

"I didn't. This isn't really a spell; it's just easier to think of it that way. It was really just my magic doing what I wanted it to do, and that was to keep everything in my room safe from prying eyes. It's hard to explain."

"Alriiight… Why did you have us touch the griffin's claws?"

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would have figured that out by now. It was the vessel for well… to make it easy it was an invisibility spell, but that doesn't really exist. It was actually a compulsion spell. As long as we touched it anyone passing by would want to look away and ignore us. They wouldn't even realize we were there.. Downfall being, if a strong sorcerer were to walk by, they would sense the magic taking effect, and be able to counter it. My father put it there."

"Ok. W- Ow!" Arthur backed down a few steps and rubbed his head. "You could have warned me it was a trap-door!"

"Sorry. Here let me unlock it." Merlin managed to squeeze past Arthur and he put a hand on the latch. "Aliese." Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and the click of a latch was heard. He pushed open the door, and climbed up, followed by Arthur. He closed the door behind him, and when Arthur looked back he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It just looked like normal flooring.

"Wha-" Whatever Arthur was about to say, was cut off as his mouth hung open as he saw the room. It was bigger than his, and was filled to the core with books, drawings, and well a bunch of stuff. And not only that, it was still clean! And organized! Arthur was surprised to see that Merlin's room actually was neat. There was tapestry on one wall that showed a dragon, a hatching egg, and a person. There were shelves everywhere that were filed with books, and other items. He noticed a small wooden carving of a dragon on the bedside table. There was another larger table in the center of the room with four chairs around it.

Merlin looked around, and was happy to see everything how he left it. He smirked when he saw Arthur's face. "What were you going to say Arthur?"

"…This is more of a workshop then a bedroom Merlin. Why do you have so much stuff?" Merlin choked out a laugh.

"Because my mother wanted to keep me out of the library, so she got me shelves. Otherwise this would all be somewhere else. Anyways, take a seat at the table and I'll get what we came here for."

Arthur sat down at the table, while Merlin went to look at a bunch of books on a bookshelf. Arthur looked at some of the drawings on the table. One of them was of wyvern flying above the castle. Another was of a bird sitting on the windowsill. The drawings were extremely detailed, to the point where they looked like they could come alive.

Merlin walked over then and put down a large book, on the table. He opened it up, and Arthur was surprised to see portions of detailed maps drawn on the pages. And suddenly he realized something, "Did you draw all of these?"

Merlin looked up, meeting his eyes. "Yes, the maps and the drawings around the room. Some of them were my mother's drawings, but most of them are mine."

"You're… very good at it."

"Thank you." He looked back down at the book, apparently looking for something, until a piece of paper slipped out. Merlin went very still, because he was very certain that that piece of paper had _not _been in the book before. He picked it up and turned it over. Reading it, and his eyes widened, as he gasped. Arthur was surprised to see Merlin hurriedly flip the book to the back where a folded piece of paper was and when he unfolded it Merlin grinned. "Oh this is just too good!"

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**Ok, so I know the whole infiltrating the castle part wasn't that fantastic, but the next few chapters are going to be much better in terms of sneaking around, and getting into trouble, and all that stuff that happens to our favorite duo. **

**And I know, another cliffy, but at least this time it isn't a cliffy in the middle of a suspenseful battle! Heh heh... heh... ummm, please don't hurt me?... Why? Because if you do I can't finish the story and you'll never know how it ends? **

**Anyways, tell me what you thought! And don't forget to vote on the poll if you haven't already (which is approximately 90% of you. I'm not joking I did the math. But this is the last time I'm asking because the next chapter is where the plot splits, and it will determine exactly what happens in that chapter and how the rest of the story carries out. So make sure you put in your vote because your opinions matter to me! **

**Alright, happy reading and writing every one!**


	25. Chapter 24

**First thing between the votes on the poll, and your reviews, I can safely say that out of the 20% of you that actually voted (I actually worked that one out almost precisely) most of you want the longer, darker, and deeper story. The other 80% I'm assuming you really don't have a preference for either so this stories going to the dark side. **

**You should join, I'll give you virtual cookies! (I know, cliche. I don't care)**

**And yeah I realize this one's only half the size of my last one. Sorry, I had a very long, annoying, tiring couple days, that were rather busy. But I managed to get this, and it's pretty good so hopefully that will make up for it.**

**Enjoy!**

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_Arthur was surprised to see Merlin hurriedly flip the book to the back where a folded piece of paper was and when he unfolded it Merlin grinned. "Oh this is just too good!"_

"What? What is it?" Arthur asked but Merlin didn't notice, or chose not to answer as he stood up and ran to another shelf, which held papers stacked on top of one another. Arthur watched completely confused as Merlin shuffled through the papers.

Finally Merlin found what he was looking for and put it on the table. This paper was a map of the city in black, and had the tunnels beneath marked in red. It was covered in symbols, and notes. Merlin picked up the small note that had originally fallen out of the book, still having not shown Arthur what the larger, folded paper was that had grabbed Merlin's attention. While Merlin studied the smaller paper and whispered under his breathe, Arthur looked closer at the map Merlin had picked up.

Arthur soon realized that the map also showed the castle's layout of the lower floor. He noticed that at one point there was a small drawing of a griffin and a zigzagging line next to it. It dawned upon him that this was marking the secret entrance to Merlin's room that they had come through, and the tapestry with the compulsion spell. And he realized that the symbols must be marking the secret passages throughout the kingdom.

Arthur was startled as Merlin suddenly picked up the map, and put down the piece of paper from the back of his book. Before he could look at it properly however, Merlin put the other map down on top of it. Merlin sucked in a breath, and spoke, "Write þas geliensesse ond afæstne þa þæm clute þa." Merlin's eyes flashed gold and suddenly new symbols, and lines appeared on the map. When the spell finished the new symbols and lines created a new set of passages, that spread out over the entirety of the map.

Arthur spoke, "What did you just do Merlin?" Merlin looked up a hand covering his mouth as tears streamed down his face. "Merlin?"

Merlin removed his hand, allowing Arthur to see his sad smile as he choked out the words, "Raymond. Raymond my brother you have out done yourself." Merlin took a steadying breath before looking back to Arthur. "My brother's final gift to me. My father had started the construction of these tunnels, but never had them finished. They were deemed unsafe, and blocked off, but Raymond had them finished while I was gone. He did this in complete secrecy, he must have or Warrick would have told me. He even went so far as to get someone to ward and set traps for each of the passages, and then give me the spell to copy them onto this map. Arthur… this is our key to defeating Unwin."

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Jarret nodded to Silias, giving him the signal to go. They had been following this specific patrol for a while now, having checked for sorcerers, they knew there were none. Silias moved forward, silent, and blending in with the trees and shadows, a talent that came to him naturally having grown up as a druid. Silias came out of the shadows long enough to clamp a mouth over one guard, who had been falling behind, and allow his eyes to flash gold as the captive fell limp. Moving forward Silias continued to knock out the guards, who were then tied up and gagged by the group following behind him. When the patrol finally noticed that they were there, there were four guards tied up, leaving ten to fight. Jarret lifted his spear, the silent order to attack. The four soldiers behind him moved forward to fight the guards.

Jarret blocked the wing of a sword, with his spear, his magic running through it to make it able to with stand the blows. He pushed back, knocking the man to the ground, hard enough for him to be knocked out. He ran forwards to the next guard working his way through them, and when he finally broke through the mass of soldiers, he turned.

Silias used his dagger to stab the attacking guard in the gut. He pulled out the blade, looking up just in time to see a spear fly past him and through the man who had been about to attack him. He looked back nodding in thanks to Jarret, and pulled the spear out for him. Silias sent the spear back to Jarret with his magic, and he moved on to fight the next guard in the fray.

Soon enough the guards were all dead or gagged and tied to a tree, in a circle. They collected all the weapons and piled them up in the middle of the tied up guards. Silias and Jarret cast a spell together. It would tell them where to find the place again, and at the same timemake it impossible to move the weapons.

Jarret waved Silias and the soldiers to move forward, to find the next patrol, sparing only a moment to look back at the guards and say, "Thanks for your support boys!" He chuckled as he ran to catch up with his group. Knowing the ropes were enchanted to not break until he, Silias, or Merlin removed the spell. He looked through the trees, searching for signs of another patrol, tonight was going to be a long one.

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Warrick watched the townspeople learning to use their weapons. The older one's had previously fought, so knew a bit more and were learning more advanced attacks and counters from the knights, while the younger, and newer, men and woman were learning the basics. It made his chest heave with pride, but at the same time it made him sad to know that all these people were almost forced into this position.

He walked over to one of the youngest men, probably his own age; fifteen. "Here loosen your grip a little. Good. And hold it steady like this. Don't let the tip dip towards the ground. There you go." The man smiled his thanks, honey colored eyes shining with determination. Warrick moved to the next person and then another, correcting each person he went to; their stance, their grip, their steps as they parried. He complimented those who were doing well, handed off advice to those who needed it.

Soon enough they would be following Merlin down the mountain, and entering the city. As soon as he was told where and when, they would leave. Until then, he resigned himself to long nights and days of practice, and teaching the people. He walked over to the next person.

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Ileana swung her katana at the armor covered practice dummy, leaving a dent in the metal. The sword had proved to be more capable than most of the other swords. Able cut the dummies clean through in two hits without the armor.

She thought of her brother, the one who had taught her how to fight (at least for hand-to-hand combat). She had quickly surpassed him before he had been killed by those men. Shouldn't even be considered men if she had a say. Her brother had given his life so she could escape the slavers. It had been his final gift to her, and she had not wasted it. She knew he would be proud of her now, becoming a knight, and almost-sister of a prince and king.

The armor on the dummy was now to dented and destroyed to use. She sheathed her sword, and pulled the armor off. Preceding then to practice her punches and kicks on the dummy. She would fight, and she would make her brother proud. She would make her new family proud. And she would do whatever it took to make that same family happy once again.

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Maurelle watched the guard, her eyesight deadly accurate even in the night. She positioned the arrow on the cross bow, and aimed. Making sure she was balanced safely on the tree limb, she shot the arrow.

The guard fell silently, the arrow having gone through his throat, and cutting off his voice. The soldiers, below her, ran out of the trees as soon as they saw the arrow. They attacked the guards. She shot a few others, before climbing down. A horse whizzed past her, and she gave chase; able to run extremely fast. She took out her bolas, and flung it at the rider. He fell to the ground, and she called over another soldier to take care of him, since she only had her bow and arrows.

Once the guards were incapacitated, with the exception of the three on the ground who gave them no other choice, she took out a blue ribbon and tied it to the nearby tree. It was enchanted to lead Jarret and Silias there later. She turned around eyes looking between the trees and ears listening for any movement. "Let's go. We can still take care of a few more patrols before meeting with Jarret's group." The five soldiers followed behind her, leaving the tied and gagged guards behind, as she pondered on how the other groups were doing as they took out the patrols.

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Morgana looked out over the battlements of the castle, as the next patrol headed out; the patrol that had been out before them, had not yet returned. She smirked. It seemed that the battle for Snowdonia would soon begin. And when it did she would be ready. There would be no more playing around, or sneaking behind anyone's backs. And when she met Arthur upon the battle field, the fight for the crown between siblings would too begin.

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Wymer sat on the log in the clearing, outside of the caves; the chill of the night air, not bothering him the slightest. He frowned as he heard the familiar wing beats that he had grown to dread over the years.

The Great Dragon landed in front of the knight, "Hello Wymer."

Wymer nodded his head respectfully, yet his voice dripped with disdain as he said, "Kilgharrah. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Are you being sarcastic old warrior?"

"No. I honestly look forward to your visits, especially after you made me privy to knowledge that warned me that my troops were riding to our doom… I do hope you aren't here to give me a repeat of that day."

"Hmmm, I remember yes. You were well known before the purge yes? Wymer the famous warrior who brought down all his enemies. That is until that fateful day-"

"Do NOT mention that day."

"Ah but I must, for that is the day where all this started. The day which Safwyl harnessed more power than ever thought possible, corrupting magic itself. The day you rode to your doom, yet lived. No man who fought in that battle was supposed to live Wymer. You cheated death and perhaps destiny itself, and now it will come back to bite you."

Wymer frowned, worry creasing his brow, "What do you mean?" His voice was raspy, barely a whisper on the wind.

Kilgharrah lowered his head to look him in the eye as he spoke, "Safwyl fathered a son before the battle, before he even realized the power at his fingertips. His son has inherited his power. For now it remains unknown to him, but I fear soon he will realize it, and history will repeat itself."

"Who is the child? Kilgharrah you must tell me!"

"The boy was once an orphan, then run out of his kingdom, and soon he found a family. His wife and son were killed, and he is not much older than you. That is all I can tell you."

"That's not- wait, no. No . NO! Tell me it's not. Tell me it's not him!"

"I cannot say." Kilgharrah lifted his head and spread his wings as he prepared to fly off.

"Kilgharrah!"

The Great Dragon turned once more, "I will tell you this Old Warrior, if the child's grief and anger become too much, then the power shall be unleashed, and overwhelm him. He will lose all that makes him human, and a new entity will be born. It will have the power to change destinies, and history at its whim. Should this happen then you, and those who fight alongside you will fall." And with that Kilgharrah flew away leaving the knight to run back to the caves in a panic, hoping beyond hope that he was wrong. That Unwin was not the child. But even then, he knew it was true.

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Unwin smiled as he thought of the battle to come. Soon. Soon he would get his revenge for what this kingdom had done to his wife. What that bastard, they called king, had done to his son. He breathed in cherishing the smell. It was the smell that preceded any battle. The smell that told of revenge, and death.

It was something he loved now. The smell. He was addicted to it; knowing that even once this battle was won, he would go on to claim more lands. Something that the foolish kings of this kingdom had neglected to do. They had had some of the most respected, and strongest knights. They had the power to control the wyverns, and they had had plenty of sorcerers. The land was ripe, the supplies a constant. Even the people had never gone hungry.

Yes he planned to take full advantage of this kingdom's resources. Soon he would be more powerful than any man alive. But first he had to rid himself at the pest that had killed his son. And maybe, he would let him live, just long enough to watch his pathetic brother die at his hands. Yes, that's exactly what he planned to do. And he would do it soon. Soon.

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**Bet you didn't expect that. But now you know why I was dropping hints about Wymer taking part in another war before the Purge. He's going to have a bigger part now that you all chose the longer and darker story in the vote. But don't worry, all hope is not lost! And I know, it's all segmented I meant for that this time. The battle draws nearer my readers! And it is going to be as you all so put it, 'EPIC!' **

**And trust me the next chapter is going to be longer, and much better than this one. Not so broken apart either, no matter what the vote had been the format for this chapter would have remained... eh. Transitions. Hey but at least something happened in this transition right!**

**Anyways, I have to get up for school in... five, six hours maybe... meh, I'm having a bad day. **

**But don't let my problems and complaints get you down. Go make yourself a better day then mine was. Happy reading and writing!**


	26. Chapter 25

**First thing's first, I'd like to thank you all for getting this story to 100 reviews. That completely made my day!**

**And now that my happy moments out of the way, and I have stopped dancing around the room I shall now address this chapter...**

**Alright so this chapter is unfortunately another transition, and though it seems I'm putting ff the battle, I assure you I am not. This chapter is completely necessary, and rather important. And I think you'll see why as you read on.**

**So then, Enjoy! XD**

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"_Arthur… this is our key to defeating Unwin."_

Arthur didn't know what to say, so he looked back at the map covered in black, red and now gold lines, and symbols. "How can this be our key, it's just a few more tun- oh. Oh! Merlin your brother was a genius!" Arthur began grinning brightly, because he finally saw what Merlin had. Right in the middle of the map was two bright golden lines, marking out a passage leading directly from the castle, to outside the walls of the city. It was a straight path in, and Unwin would have no idea it was there.

Merlin laughed, before finally getting out some words, "I need to tell the others the location of the tunnel, but we're not going to start the attack just yet. We need to do something first."

Arthur looked confused, they hadn't said anything about this in the plan they had come up with. They were supposed to get in, find the quickest, safest path in. And then Merlin would contact Warrick using telepathy, and tell them. They would begin the attack that night. "What do you mean? Hey! Where are you going?"

Merlin stopped where he was standing on the stairs leading down through the trap door. "I need to go see some old friends of mine. I figured you were coming, but if you want to stay here alone, in my room, with no way out- because I will be sealing it back up with magic- then be my guest."

"Who said I wasn't coming with you?"

"Well you did ask where _I_ was going, and you've made no move to follow."

"I… um… Hey! Wait for me!" Arthur shouted as he ran after Merlin. They walked down the stairs and Merlin opened the door behind the tapestry; surprising Arthur when it opened out towards them, instead of into the hallway before. He quickly got over it though. It wasn't like it would be the only odd thing that he would be seeing.

He followed Merlin as he was led through a series of hallways; turning down a new one so often that Arthur couldn't even remember the correct path back exactly. Merlin then stopped him when they came to a model of a knight in armor, which stood in a small alcove against the wall. Merlin walked to the wall opposite it, and studied the wall for a minute. And just as Arthur was beginning to think Merlin crazy, the black haired boy smirked and pressed against one of the stones in the wall. Arthur watched as it actually pushed in about an inch, before a piece of the wall next to it slid to the side, opening up the path to a new hallway.

Merlin turned back to him, motioning towards the secret hall. "After you." Arthur walked in followed by Merlin, the door closing behind him. Merlin snuck past him, and brought him through another series of confusing turns, until they began to hear whispered voices. They came out through a wooden door, hidden in the shadows, and into a hallway containing prison cells on either side.

Merlin looked down the passage, only one way to go from there. He began to walk towards the voices, knowing that his knights wouldn't be talking if the guards were there. Soon he came out of the shadows, and stood there smiling as he saw the rest of his knights that had survived. Sure most of them looked to have gone under various forms of torture, but they were alive, and they were still fighting if the whispered words of escape were reaching his ears.

However even when Arthur came to stand next to him, no one had noticed he was there, so he smiled as he decided exactly how to get their attention. He closed his eyes as he yelled telepathically, "_Hey! What are all you lazy sods doing down here!"_ The reactions he got were priceless.

As one all the knights jumped and turned to look at him, shock clear in their widened eyes; gasps echoing from one cell to another. And a few had the most comical expressions he had ever seen. And then they had all ran to the bars of their cell, trying to get a better look at their king.

And then one of the knights managed to find her voice. "Merlin? Merlin is that really you?" The whisper seemed to be a yell with how quiet the space had gotten.

Merlin took in the long light brown hair, and the jade eyes; Dylana. He smiled, "Yeah, yeah it's me."

"Damn it Merlin, we thought we would never see you again. What are you even doing here anyways? You could get caught and- who's that with you?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I never sent word. That you all thought I would never return… I never meant for that to happen." He swallowed, and there was silence for a minute before he realized that he still hadn't answered Dylana's question. "I'm here because I needed to see how you all were, and to let you know we have a plan, and the battle for the kingdom is going to start soon. And this prat here is my friend, and ally, Prince Arthur of Camelot."

There were more gasps, and Arthur saw a few stiffen or pale. He nudged Merlin, giving him a pointed look, which made Merlin suddenly widen his eyes in realization. He turned back to his knights, quickly speaking, "No. No, it's ok. Arthur knows about my magic and everything, and he's accepted it, as well as the knights and soldiers with him."

Another knight with light tan- almost blond- hair, and sage colored eyes poke up, "I trust you more than any Merlin, but I find it hard to believe a Pendragon trusting magic, even if you say it's so."

"Evan, I know you spent some time with the druids, so I know you know the prophecies. So I know that you'll understand when I say that Arthur is The Once and Future King."

"I- how do you know for sure?"

"Because while I was away I met Kilgharrah the Great Dragon-" He waited for the gasps to stop echoing around the dungeon, "-and he told me that it is so, and that I am Emrys. Take that as you will I suppose, but I wouldn't dare call him a liar." There was a long silence, the knights looking on in shock, Merlin looking directly into Evan's eyes; challenging, and Arthur stuck to the side, feeling like he shouldn't be there. But suddenly the sound of approaching footsteps sounded, and the knights moved back into their cells, even as Arthur pulled Merlin back into the shadows, and out of view.

Two guards cam in dragging a man, with long black hair and a scruffy beard, between them. The man's voice rung out as they threw him in a cell separate from the knights, "I told you, I was just passing through. Old friend said they had some good ale." The guards just grunted and walked away, the door to the dungeons, closing behind them.

As soon as the footsteps of the retreating guards could no longer be heard, Merlin shot out of the shadows and to the cell, Arthur shocked at the speed he had moved in. Merlin was pushing against the bars, his face still hidden partially in shadows, so the stranger could not see his face. Merlin nearly choked on the one word he managed to get out, "Gwaine?!"

The man, Gwaine, looked up, eyes widening in shock. "Merlin? Fancy seeing you here."

"Gwaine, you idiot! Only you would manage to come to Snowdonia just when it had been captured."

"Is that it then? I was wondering why they were so uptight, you know, you told me the city was such a nice place. Makes sense now. But really what are you doing here? When we split you said you were heading towards Ealdor with no plans to turn back for quite some time."

"I wasn't planning to either, but these blokes-"

The knights pulled indignant expressions, as they shouted "Hey!"

"-went and got themselves captured by Unwin, and I had to come back. Not that I'm complaining, I missed them all." Merlin finished.

Gwaine's head tilted in confusion, just as Arthur came out of the shadows, "Merlin, who is this? I mean Gwaine, obviously. Sorry, but how do you know him?"

Merlin bit his lip, looking at his knights who seemed to want to know the same thing. "I told you the story already Arthur. Gwaine is the man I helped out of that tavern brawl, and traveled with."

"The one who tried to get you drunk all the time?"

"Never succeeded though! Shame really, I always wondered what secrets he had to spill… And now I'm even more curious. What do you say Merlin, after all this I'll take you to the tavern, drinks on you!" Arthur stared at Gwaine, while Merlin chuckled.

"Only you Gwaine would ask for ale when stuck in a cell, in a kingdom currently run by powerful sorcerers out for revenge."

"Speaking of, how do you know this lot then Merlin, all nobles they are."

"Yes, but they're all good men, and woman… And, look, I know how you feel about nobles but their different, okay, including Arthur- even if he is a prat sometimes."

"Must run in the blood then." Gwaine said as he glared at Arthur.

"Gwaine listen please. They're my friends, and you _know _that I wouldn't be friends with a bunch of gorbellied codpieces. And I really should have told you, but circumstances prevented it-"

"You're a noble aren't you?"

Merlin swallowed as Merlin and the rest of the knights wisely stayed silent, "It's a bit more complicated than just being a noble Gwaine… Now that my brother has been killed, I am the rightful king of Snowdonia." There was a silence for a while, until Gwaine began to laugh.

"I always knew there was something about you Merlin. Good on you mate! A king. Ha, I'm friends with a bloody king. Never thought I'd see the day. Not with what happened with- you know."

Merlin gaped, "You're not angry? I thought, what with what you told me about…" Merlin bit his lip and looked around, he couldn't bring up Gwaine's past with the other's here. If Gwaine wanted to tell them that was fine, but until Gwaine told them himself, he would not say anything. He spoke telepathically, "_What about your father. What you told me about him fighting for the king, and then that same king not helping your family. I thought you would be angry that I didn't tell you. Especially when you said all kings are the same."_

Gwaine's eyes widened, knowing from his many travels that to speak telepathically, you had to have magic, how he _himself_ could hear Merlin, came more of a shock to him then the fact that Merlin obviously had magic. He startled when Merlin voice echoed in his head again "_I'm surprised you know so much about telepathy… and you would be able to hear and respond to me because I'm rather powerful. That or it's because of who exactly I am. The laws of magic haven't always applied for me, I've noticed."_

Gwaine smirked, before answering with a thought, "_Alright, something new to add to my 'things about Merlin list'."_

"_You kept a list?"_

"_I keeping one now. But no, I'm not angry, annoyed a little maybe, but not angry. Actually I find it rather funny. But the point is I know you, and you don't give thought to rank. That's obvious even now."_

Arthur watched the two, realizing they were having a silent conversation, before turning to the knights looked up in the cell. There were what looked to be about 20 of them, and Arthur recalled Merlin saying that 30 had been captured or killed, so the missing ten were either locked up somewhere else, or were dead.

He sucked in a breath, looking back to Merlin in Gwaine before speaking to the knights, "Since those two seem to busy catching up, I'll say what Merlin hasn't. We will get you out of here, and we will take back the kingdom. We've found a way in that no one, not even Warrick knew about. As soon as Merlin gives everyone the go for the attack, the battle is going to begin. I'm going to see if I can get you a key or something, so when the time comes, you can get out."

One of the knights, the girl that had been speaking to Merlin earlier, spoke up, "Thank you, but I don't think that will be a problem. Most of us won't be of much use anyways, not after they tortured us to try and get information. I got off easy so far, but I speak for the others when I say that here will be better for most of them during the battle, than out there."

"Of course. I wouldn't expect you to fight in this state. But you would still be able to get out; wouldn't that be better than staying in the cold, damp cell?"

The knight smiled, "I can see why our king likes you. Now then, I know your name, but you don't know mine. Bit unfair don't you agree. My name is Dylana. Though you can call me Del."

"Del it is then.-"

"Oi! Arthur! We need to get going before the guards show up again." Arthur jumped at Merlin's voice. He smiled apologetically at Del, before getting up and following Merlin into the shadows, and back through the castle. They went back to Merlin's old room- since it was late, and they couldn't just go to an inn, and ask to stay- and settled in for the remainder of the night.

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**Alrighty, what did you think. I mean I think it was ok, but you know what they say, the worst critic is yourself. But I had also had a whole plan for Gwaine's big appearance, and this turned out completely different than what I had wanted. But that's also because I realized my other plan wasn't going to work:( Which is a bummer really because it was awesome. Oh well, you win some you lose some right?"**

**And no worries, I'll have more about Gwaine popping up later on, especially since Merlin spent some time travelling with Gwaine if you remember the story in chapter 19 (or Ch. 20 if you count the prequel as ch. 1). And as you'll probably find out as the story progresses, (if you haven't already) I will be coming up with more background for all the major characters, such as Gwaine. And hopefully my imaginative mind will give me another idea for Merlin that doesn't include fighting off a bunch of people at young ages... **

**Whatevs, you can only work with what you got, and right now I have a tv. series with almost no background on any of the characters, and whatever I can come up with. That and a homework asignment that dissapeared somewhere between the classroom, and my house... hmmm the mysterious disappearing homework. Don't think my Spanish teacher will take that excuse even if it really is true. :( Oh well.**

**Anyways, review please, and Happy reading and writing!**


	27. Chapter 26

**I have feeling that you lot are all going to love this chapter for one reason. And I'm going to say right now, that I had a lot of fun righting certain parts of this story. But I don't like to spoil things so I'm not mentioning anything else until my A/N at the end of this.**

**Enjoy!**

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Gwaine woke up to the sound of the door opening. He looked up, coming face to face with two guards. He tried to remember where he was, and after a moment it all came rushing back to him. He was in Snowdonia, which was currently under the rule of Unwin, and had just found out that Merlin of all people was a bloody king. Well that certainly made things interesting.

The guards grabbed Gwaine by his arms and began to drag him out of the dungeons. He winked at one of the knights in the cells, as he was pulled past. He looked to the silent guards, "You don't by chance have any ale?" Gwaine sighed when they didn't answer, "No, I didn't think so." He decided to think about how he could escape. It was one of the things Merlin had talked to him about last night.

_Flashback:_

"_Listen Gwaine, I can't get you out of here yet, for the same reason that I can't just release my knights. If I did, Unwin would know that we're already in the castle, and right now we need the element of surprise."_

"_So what do you need me to do mate?"_

"_If you can find a way to escape, possibly cause them some problems; distractions and the like. And if you can, try and get into the lower town. Start to spread rumors about my return. But only if you can keep from getting yourself caught, or… killed. I don't need you suffering for me."_

"_Merlin, you are my one true friend, if this is the one thing you need of me, then I will do it. Anyways, you don't need to worry about me; all those tavern brawls taught me a few tricks."_

"_Only you Gwaine. I'll try and find you before the battle. Stay safe."_

"_You too mate."_

_ End Flashback:_

He took in his surroundings, knowing he would need to get out before they arrived at where ever they were heading. He was brought up a few stairs and then was dragged down a few hallways, and up more stairs. If he was right then he would be on the third floor right about now. So maybe he could…

Gwaine suddenly got to his feet and ran forwards, the guards falling onto the floor in surprise, as now Gwaine dragged them. He pulled free of the guards grip, and jumped over them, running back the way he had come. He ran past the door leading down to the dungeons and headed towards where he knew the exit to be, only to turn quickly back around as three other guards came around the corner. He could hear shouts as the guards gave chase.

Gwaine soon came to a split in the hallway. To the right were, what were probably guest rooms, and to the left was another set of stairs, a shadow coming down them, followed by voices. He could hear the clinking of armor, and yells of men running to catch up. Gwaine ran to the right, and entered the first room there was, backing out as a woman shrieked. He opened the next door, thankfully finding the room empty and locked the door behind him, moving a chair to hold the door closed temporarily. He looked around, spying the window, and opened it up. It was certainly a long drop down, too long, but there was ledge that he could walk on, maybe. There was a loud bang, as the guards began to pound on the door; the chair straining under the pressure. Deciding he had no other choice, he climbed out onto the ledge and began edging his along the wall.

He heard the door crash open, and looked back to see a guard pop his head out the window he had just exited. The guard quickly pulled his head back in, and Gwaine realized that they were heading for the room with the next window. He swore, looking around for any way to get down, and seeing a tree, 8 or so feet below him, he dropped down.

For a minute, Gwaine thought he had misjudged the distance, until he started tumbling through the branches and leaves, before catching hold of one branch. He climbed down, dropping the last few feet when he heard the guards running across the garden he was now in. Gwaine took one look at the group of guards before running towards the courtyard around the bend.

Gwaine stuttered to a stop in the courtyard. There were guards blocking the gates out of the castle area, and there would be no getting past them. So he thanked whatever gods there were, when a group came around a corner riding on horses.

It only took a moment for him to run over and pull one of the men off, before jumping on and taking his place. He kicked the horse in the sides, setting it into a run straight for the gates. The guards quickly formed a line blocking the path, but Gwaine didn't stop, and as soon as the guards realized he wasn't going to, they jumped out of the way, as the horse breezed past.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Merlin sneaked past the guard and into the kitchen, surprised to actually see Snowdonia's own kitchen staff. He discreetly made his own way through, and began to put food on a tray. Unfortunately, Julie had always been very observant, and very soon his hand was caught in the grasp of the head cook. Merlin kept his head bowed, hoping Julie wouldn't recognize him in the clothes from Camelot. However it was naught to be.

"Merlin! Is that you?" She whispered. Merlin nodded, and Julie dragged him back and into the food pantry, closing the door behind them. "Merlin. What are you doing here? How did you even get here? If anyone had seen you…"

"Julie, I know you're worried. But believe me I'm fine. I got here last night. Warrick came to find me, and I came to help. We're going to take back the kingdom."

"Merlin my dear, I'm afraid even you can't turn the tides like that. Unwin's too strong this time."

"Julie, I didn't come alone! Camelot has sent help as well, and I have a few other friends of mine, who can turn the tide. But I've also gotten much stronger, learned more too. But you can't tell anyone that I'm in the city ok?"

"Fine. But be careful. What are you doing here anyways?"

"I needed to get food for me and my friend. He gets really cranky when he doesn't eat… Why are the kitchen staff still here? I thought Unwin would have gotten rid of everyone."

"Fool didn't have his own people to cook and serve him, so he kept as much of the old staff as possible, and stationed guards just about everywhere. I only wish he wasn't so smart as to make sure his food was tested by his guards."

Merlin frowned, "So everyone who didn't escape, they're still in the castle?"

"Yes, unless Unwin found he didn't need them, then they were killed, or sent to the lower town. They all have a curfew down there. They can only come out after midday, and only stay out until the sun reaches the peak of the mountains. It's only a five hours' worth of time."

Merlin thought about this, and hoped that Gwaine would be alright if he managed his escape they had talked about the night before. "I need to go Julie, my friend will be waking up soon, and I don't want him to be left alone for too long."

"Alright dear, just be careful."

"I know." And with that Merlin took the tray of food, exited the pantry and snuck his way back to his room.

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When Arthur woke up, it was to the sound of men shouting in the courtyard bellow the window. He got up and went to see what was happening, only to gape as he saw Gwaine running across the courtyard, and stealing a horse, before riding right through the gates.

Arthur hadn't known what to think of Merlin's friend when he had met him. The man had seemed to be a reckless drunk in his eyes, but Merlin must have seen something else in him. Before Arthur could ponder about the mysterious man some more, Merlin came up through the trap door, startling him. He hadn't even noticed that Merlin hadn't been in the room.

Merlin looked at Arthur, "You're up! Good. I brought breakfast." Arthur still a bit dumbfounded, sat down at the table. Merlin nodded to the window, where the shouts were still echoing through the courtyard, "What happened out there?"

Arthur looked back, and blinked before speaking, "Gwaine."

A look of understanding and amusement came over Merlin's face, "Only him. What did the crazy drunk do this time?"

"He stole a horse and rode straight through the gates. Leaving the guards to try and chase after him."

"That's just the thing he would do. Hope he'll be alright, Julie said there was a curfew."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "Julie?"

"Oh! Sorry Julie's our head cook; has been as long as I can remember. Apparently Unwin kept most of the castle staff, and is forcing them to work for him. And there's a curfew for all the surviving people. They were all put into the lower town and have to stay inside until midday, and be back inside before the sun reaches the mountains."

"So Unwin's being very strict then."

"More like paranoid- probably afraid that the people will find a way to rebel otherwise. Although he wouldn't be wrong on that front; the people are very resourceful."

"Right. Well, what do we do now. It's not like we can just go and stroll through the castle, and hope we don't get caught-

"Why not? I did."

"-and you've apparently changed the original plan-"

"Not changed, just added a few things in."

"-and I am _not_ sitting around in here all day."

Merlin stared a moment before talking, "Well I can agree on that one… And I can find you a cloak maybe, and I should be able to just go as is. Nobody really bothered me; they all thought I was another servant, well, all except Julie. And we need to get those keys you promised to Del-"

"Wait you heard that?" Arthur interrupted.

"I'm not deaf, and I am capable of listening and speaking at the same time, telepathically or not."

"Riiight."

Merlin gave an indignant look before speaking again, "Anyways, we'll find the keys, and I'll bring them to Dylana, and then I'll contact Warrick and tell him about the entrance we found. And until everyone's in position we can have a little fun."

"Won't they know we're here though?"

"They won't think it is us. No they'll probably assume it to be Gwaine."

"What do you mean?"

Merlin looked at him with a big smile and sparkling eyes, "Let's just say that Gwaine is really good at provocation and distraction." Arthur decided that it was better left unsaid.

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It was around midday that Gwaine came out of his hiding spot, but only because other people were beginning to come out of their homes as well. Gwaine smirked, it was time he had a little bit of fun.

The first place he went to was the nearest tavern, which was surprisingly open. But of course the guards would want to get hold of some ale now wouldn't they? So Gwaine was _not _surprised to see many drunken guards sitting around the tables, in the tavern. This would be easier than he thought, but he was going to need some ale before he got to work, so he asked the waitress to kindly get him some.

It wasn't much longer before he was joined by other townspeople. And sure enough one of them plopped down in the seat across from him, eyeing him suspiciously as he spoke. "You ain't from around here, is ya? Never seen you before."

Gwaine smiled, "Nah, I'm not from anywhere, just a traveler looking for some good ale."

The man leaned across the table, and whispered to him, "How'd ya get in the city bud? They're arresting every person that goes near the gates."

"Got that right mate. They brought me straight to the cells, met a few knights while I was there. But you know, the guard wasn't that good. Got myself out of there this morning."

The man's eyes widened, "Really? You escaped… how?"

"Jumped out the window, and found myself a horse."

The man eyed him suspiciously again, "I find that hard to believe. But nevertheless, you're from outside. Tell me. What's happening out there?"

Gwaine smiled charmingly and leaned back in his chair, deciding that this man would be a good candidate for what he had in mind. "Oh that's a good story. You know, I was wandering around out there, and I run right into whom else but an old friend of mine. I had met him up north when he was on his way to Ealdor. And this time he told me something. He said he was a bloody king. Said that he was coming to take back his kingdom."

"Really. What's his name?"

"Merlin I think. Kindest man I ever met. Helped me out of a fight one time, wielding a couple of fighting knives. Scrawny fellow though, didn't think I'd ever see him down this way."

Gwaine fought not to laugh at the man's face. His eyes were bulging out, and his mouth was agape. The man quickly got up, "I'm sorry, I've got to g-go. Umm… things to take care of." Gwaine watched as the man quickly made his way to another table, whispered something in another person's ear and walked out. That should get word around faster.

He stayed at the tavern for a while, repeating the story, until finally he decided it was good enough. He got up to leave, but stopped and smiled when he saw the perfect opportunity. There was a guard, obviously drunk, heading to the table next to him. He stopped the man, and whispered in his ear, "You know, those friends of yours sure our loud mate. And they said some things you mightn't like."

"Yeah… what they say?" The words were slightly slurred, and Gwaine smirked.

"They said you were lumpish, clay-brained, strumpet. That your mother was a whore, and that you were pathetic, weak. That you shouldn't even be here, and Unwin should have left you to the wolves."

"They said that huh?" Gwaine could hear the venom in the words.

"That and more. You're not going to let them get away with that are you?"

"Like hell I won't!" Gwaine smiled as the man stormed over, as Gwaine left, he looked over at the waitress, and smiled charmingly, giving her a wink and a wave. He walked out, just as a bunch of shouts began to sound, and the obvious sounds of a good tavern brawl broke out. His only regret was that he couldn't be part of it. He moved on, thinking about how else he could have some fun.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

About two hours after midday, Merlin and Arthur came to Unwin's door. The sorcerer was not there, having left to punish the guards for letting Gwaine escape. Having spent the better part of the morning trying to find out where the keys to the cells were kept, they had grudgingly accepted the only full set was in Unwin's rooms. Now was there one chance at getting the keys.

"This was my father's room, and then Raymond's when he became king." Arthur put a supporting hand on his shoulder, as Merlin unlocked and opened the door. They walked in, quickly closing the door behind them. They froze when they realized there was another person in the room though. Unwin apparently, kept his servant under lock and key.

The boy immediately stood up from where he sat on the ground, and moved back. Tears stained his face, and his whole body was trembling. Merlin looked the frightened boy over. He had blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was on the skinny side, but he still appeared to have a good build. The boy was only a few years younger than him. It only took a moment longer for Merlin to recognize his old servant. "Kyle?"

Kyle looked up from the ground, eyes wide. "M-Merlin? What- How-" Merlin rushed forward as the boy fell to the ground, catching him before he could hit it.

"Shh, it's ok. What happened? What's got you so scared? You were never scared."

"He- he called in another servant, Brietta, a-and ask her to get him some wine. And when she came back, h-he grabbed her and forced himself on her. And when I t-tried to stop him, h-he just used his magic t-to keep me from moving, and f-forced me to watch. And then h-he just killed her when he w-was done. And drunk the wine, and just left her body there, and walked a-away. And th-then-"

"It's alright Kyle, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Kyle nodded, and Merlin looked to Arthur; silently telling him to find the keys quickly. Arthur nodded. "Kyle. Kyle it's going to be ok. I'm not going to let anything else happen. He's never going to hurt anyone else again." The boy began to calm down, and relax in Merlin's hold. Merlin had always been friends with his servant, and never once had he seen the boy cry. Kyle had always been so strong, but even the story had appalled Merlin, he could only imagine what it was like to be forced to witness it. Especially with how close he remembered Brietta and Kyle being.

Arthur tapped him on the shoulder, showing him the keys. Merlin nodded, he looked down at Kyle, and deciding he couldn't just leave his friend here, lifted him up. "Kyle, we're going back to my room for a bit, I'd like you to come with me. Is that alright?" The servant nodded, tears still coming down his face, but with a stronger, less vulnerable look in his eyes.

Arthur led them back to the room this time, instead of Merlin who was busy keeping Kyle focused, and supported on his feet. And a few minutes later, they made it to Merlin's room. Merlin led Kyle to the bed and helped him to lie down in it. Pulling the covers over him, as the boy fell asleep. Merlin looked back to Arthur, his eyes alight with fury.

"I can't believe that monster! I always knew he was cruel, but I didn't know he was like this! How can he even live with himself? I'm going to make sure that he never has the chance to do something like this again. He'll regret every-"

"Merlin. You need to calm down." Arthur was beginning to get very worried about Merlin.

"No!" Arthur jumped as a mirror cracked behind him, he looked at Merlin, whose eyes were glowing gold, and not showing sides of fading to blue anytime soon. "I will not calm down! That codpiece is going to pay for what he's done. It's well and overdue! He's caused enough pain!"

Arthur felt a shiver go down his spine, as the floor began to shake, and a wind began to pick up in the room. It didn't take him long to realize that Merlin was losing control. Arthur grabbed his friends shoulders, "Merlin, listen to me. Think about what you are doing. If you don't calm down now, you're going to give us away. If that happens, then you'll never stop Unwin. Come on. Calm down. Relax. Deep breaths."

Merlin began to tremble and suddenly fell to his knees, the gold in his eyes faded to blue covered by tears. He took a shaky breath before looking Arthur in the eye, "Thank you."

Arthur just nodded, glancing over to Kyle, surprised to see the boy was still sound asleep. He looked back at Merlin, "Why don't you contact Warrick. Let him know where to go. Maybe we'll be able to end this tonight huh?" Merlin nodded and stood up; going to sit in a chair at the table while he spoke telepathically with Warrick.

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Jarret scanned the forest, last night the groups they had sent out, had managed to take out almost twenty patrols of ten guards each. Normally taking out 200 guards with only 30 people would have been impossible, but when you had split them up and took each group one by one, it certainly evened out the odds. Jarret looked to the other four knights, each of them were in charge of a group of five soldiers. There were more with them, they had come down with 500 people, but the others had had to stay behind at the meeting place.

That had been the plan, Jarret wasn't too happy with it though. He was in charge of the whole group, and when he got the 'go' from Merlin, they would be heading out to the city and attacking the gates. Unfortunately it would only be a distraction, and Jarret worried that they would lose some good men. But the reason was good, and he could see how it could work in the long run. He just hoped that it would be worth it.

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Unwin returned to his room, and immediately realized something was missing. What was it? The servant boy he realized. How did he escape? It made something inside him rise up. Wanting to take him, to show him all the power in the world, but when he reached for it, it squirmed away, hiding back down inside him.

Unwin sat down at the table, still furious at the useless guards. How could they have let that man escape? Their excuses were all the same, 'too fast', 'reckless; probably insane', 'jumped out of a window'. They weren't good excuses, but there should never have been any in the first place. He had enjoyed teaching them their place. They would not make the mistake again. No, he had made sure of that.

There was a knock at the door, "Enter." Unwin stood up as Morgause walked in. He nodded his head in greeting, "My lady. What do I owe this pleasure" He purred. Morgause eyed him with disgust, but he didn't care, he would have her one day.

"The prisoner who escaped, he has been causing problems all over the town."

Unwin growled out his next words, "What kind of problems."

"He's started fights among the guards, set fire to our supplies, was the subject of chases around the city, resulting in the destruction, and invading of many homes, and businesses. He's set our men on wild goose chases all over the town, and set a rumor around that Merlin has come to save them. Supposedly our escapee used to be good friends with Merlin, and met him on his way to the city. The townspeople have begun to riot, and revolt. The guards and soldiers are being run haggard trying to neutralize them."

"Why can they not catch him! It is a simple task I give them. Bring me the prisoner, and then they lose him, and can't catch him again! They should be punished."

"My apologies if I speak out of turn, but should you keep 'punishing' your men, then you will have none left to fight against Merlin when the time comes. Whether they are incompetent or not, they are still not expendable."

"Yes, I suppose you are right my lady. Thank you."

"Of course. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to attend to." Unwin waved her out. The power within him was beginning to rise again; responding to his anger. This time though it did not all away, but laid just out of reach.

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Warrick had gotten the message from Merlin two hours ago, the entrance to the secret tunnels, was a small cave just at the base of the mountains. They had finally reached the cave and Warrick stepped in, followed by the group of a little over 1200 people. Warrick smiled as his torch revealed a stair case going into the ground. Raymond must have found some skilled people or his father had if this had been from his work on the tunnels.

The tunnel would lead directly to the center of the castle if the map was accurate, of which he had no doubt. And there were plenty of passages that led throughout the city or to the original tunnels if they decided to split up. As soon as everyone was in position, Merlin would let them know, and the attack would begin. Tonight, they were going to take back their kingdom.

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**Well I hope you all thought that I wrote Gwaine ok. I had a lot of fun writing him, and his escape moment. ****However I did not have fun writing poor Kyle's story. And don't worry, he has a reason for being here. I didn't just throw him in here for the heck of it. But with all these characters popping up it's bound to get a bit confusing, so if it you think that it's getting to complicated let me know, I'll dial it down a bit if I get enough reviews or pm's from all of you about it.**

**Anyways, I realize this chapter seems just as cut up as the last one, sorry. Thing with me is I like to keep things somewhat organized, so for the most part everything is in order of time. Except for the very beginning because those were overlapping. But I'm rambling, again! I can be so annoying sometimes, even to myself! ****Oh well, just be yourself as I always say.**

**Sooo... let me know what you think of the chapter. And happy reading and writing! **

**Oh! And for those of you who watch it, Enjoy the Superbowl, and have fun laughing at the commercials.**


	28. Chapter 27

**Damned Blizzard making me have to shovel 3 ft. of snow out of an overly large drive way. And cancelling school... which normally I would be cheering about, but unfortunately that meant triple the homework in my teachers' minds. _sigh_. **

**The next thing I'm going to say is, damn this thing is 7,920 word long before A/N! On my scale that's pretty big right now...**

**But anyways..._You are going to absolutely love this chapter._ I just know it! I was just smiling the whole time I wrote it, more like it wrote itself. It's nothing like I had wanted it to be, but I think this way might be better.**

**So enjoy!**

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Merlin opened the secret door to his room, climbing up with Arthur following- they had just brought the keys to the cells down to Dylana and the other knights- but Merlin stopped short as soon as he looked around. There were a few things wrong. For starters, the room looked like it had been ransacked, one of the windows was smashed outwards, and Kyle was nowhere to be seen.

Arthur came up next to him looking around, "What happened? I thought you said everything was protected by magic."

Merlin shook his head disbelievingly, "It was, but not to someone who was already inside."

"What do you mean?"

"Kyle. He was the only one in here. I don't know why, but he must have done this, and then escaped out the window." Merlin walked over to said window, and looked down, however it was too dark to see anything. He sighed. "Something else must have happened in that room earlier, beside what he told us."

Arthur nodded, "You did stop him from saying anything past what happened to the girl, Brietta was it?"

"Yeah. They were very close before, but that still wouldn't have been enough for him to do something like this. Something happened to him too; must have. I just don't know what… I hope he's alright."

"I'm sure he is Merlin, but we should focus on the battle now right? We can find him later."

Merlin breathed in, releasing it in a heavy sigh, before nodding his head in agreement. "We have to see if everyone's in position, then I need to find Unwin."

"What about Morgana and Morgause?"

Merlin bit his lip, "I don't know where they're going to be. We need to deal with them, but Unwin is going to be the bigger threat. I mean we could leave him until we've taken care of the others,, but I… have a feeling that I need to get to Unwin first. I don't know why, I just know that I have to. Anyways, for all we know, Morgana and Morgause could be with Unwin."

"Good point… wait, do you mean you know where Unwin is going to be?"

"I have a few ideas. But he'll most likely be in The Pit."

Arthur eyed him, confused, "The Pit?"

Merlin grimaced, "It's one of the most strategic places for him to go. It's pretty much a crater that we turned into an arena for magical tournaments, training, etc. It's warded so magic can't be used outside to attack someone inside, and vice versa. If he does go there we'll both be forced to fight in The Pit, and it's going to leave both of us vulnerable. But worse, it also holds many magical artifacts within the armory there as well; magical weapons, crystals that can amplify magic, amulets and armor protecting against different spells- you get the idea. If he's taken the time to go through all of it then he'll have the advantage."

Arthur sucked in a breath, "Doesn't sound good… but you said yourself- you're Emrys"

"That's true, I am. But whilst I might have more power than him, that doesn't necessarily, mean I will win. I have to take into the fact that he is older so will have more skill and experience. On top of that, anything can happen at any given moment. There's always the chance he can surprise me with something. And… I don't know why, but for some reason I feel as though I should be wary."

Arthur didn't know what to make of that. Merlin had told him about how his 'feelings' seemed to be correct when coming to anything magical or dangerous. If he felt as though there was something more going on, then it was probably with good reason. And then he realized something Merlin had said, "Wait. '_I'? _What's all this talk about 'I'? There is no 'I'! _We_ are in this together!"

Merlin shook his head, "We are in this together, but you are not going to go anywhere near Unwin. You're going with the group Warrick's sending to open the gates to let Jarret's group in."

"That wasn't part of the plan!"

"Yes it was. It was just decided when you weren't there to hear it."

"Merlin! You shouldn't have to do this alone, and I'm not going to let you! What if he does surprise you? What if he's not alone? You'll need someone there to back you up."

"Do you think I haven't planned for that Arthur! My knights are going to be there and some of the druids as well, staying hidden and ready to intervene if necessary. But I can't have you there. If something does go wrong, then you need to be able to get away with as many of your forces as you can. You're the crown prince of Camelot, not Snowdonia. Your safety is my responsibility while you're here. If you get injured or worse, killed, it's my fault. It will be my fault that Camelot loses its one and only heir to the throne… And it will be my fault that I lost my friend. Please Arthur, for once, listen to me. Just lead the group going for the gates."

Arthur turned his head, "Fine. But if something happens to you-"

"Nothing will. I always make it back remember. Anyways, we still have destiny to fulfill. I can't die now." It was a poor excuse, and they both knew it. But it was something to hold on to, and they would take it. "I should probably check in with everyone." Arthur nodded as Merlin went to sit down and cast his mind out to everyone.

Merlin pinpointed everyone quickly, and began to speak to them, _"Jarret are you in position?"_

_ "Ready and waiting Merlin."_

_ "Warrick are you ready?"_

_ "I'm in position with my group. Braden- a Camelot soldier- is leading a group of twenty towards the gate towers using the tunnels. He'll wait at the last intersection before the gates for Arthur to arrive and take over."_

Merlin nodded remembering the soldier,_ "Braden, good I met him earlier. He should do well. Bevan, are the shields up?"_

_ "Jarret's people are protected from arrows and simple magical assaults. The stronger shields will take a little more time though."_

_ "It's going to have to be good enough for now, but get them up as soon as you can. Myrna, Oscar, are the healers ready for the injured?"_

The voices responded simultaneously, _"All set, and at the ready."_

_ "Good, Vevina how are your group?"_

_ "We're at the exit of the tunnels for the lower town, ready for battle Emrys."_

_ "Kilgharrah?"_

_ "I am close to hand when you call."_

Merlin rubbed his face, mentally apologizing to Gwaine for not looking for him first, before speaking to Arthur, "Everyone's ready."

Arthur glanced at him, "Then what are we waiting for?" Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and the room reorganized itself, leaving the map on the table. He grabbed his blue cloak that he had worn in Camelot, and Arthur frowned, "When did that get here?"

Merlin slipped the cloak on as he spoke, "I hid it under my armor. If I'm going to fight Unwin I might as well have something to protect myself." At Arthur's raised eyebrows Merlin explained, "It has some defensive spells woven into it. It will protect me against small spells, that and it reminds me of magic in general. The gold and silver threads look much like the magic web… I'll explain that later." He looked around, frowning as he couldn't find what he was looking for. "My amulet's gone!"

"Amulet?"

"It was a gift that I left here. It can protect against spells like my cloak only stronger, but it also prevents the blocking and draining of magic, as well as providing physical and mental strength."

"Well I'm sure it will show up, Merlin, but we should get going."

Merlin nodded as they exited the room, this time going out the normal door, not the hidden one, at the same time, Merlin shouted to every mind he could reach in the kingdom and just outside, _"For family! For Snowdonia!" _He smiled as the familiar words were shouted back at him telepathically, and as well as verbally, the response having been loud enough to hear even in the castle. He called out to Kilgharrah and the wyvern in the mountains, commanding them to attack Unwin's forces, and soon their cries joined those of the people's. He nodded to Arthur and they ran towards the tunnels to where Warrick was.

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Gwaine took another swig of ale in the tavern that he had first visited, only now vacant of guards. Surprisingly the owner had still let him return after the fight he had caused. He jumped however as a shout echoed in his head, _"For family! For Snowdonia!"_ He realized he wasn't the only one to hear it, however when the people in the tavern all cheered and shouted, repeating the phrase. He was shocked more when the tavern owner threw them all swords and other weapons from behind the counter, and everyone ran out to fight.

He grabbed a sword and did the same, meeting with guards and soldiers almost immediately. He had learned how to use the sword at a younger age, having spent much of his younger life with his mother who wanted him to know how to use the sword, even if his father wasn't around anymore. He went through familiar movements- _parry, block, block, dodge-_he saw his opening and swung, cutting the soldier in the hip, and causing him to fall. He thrust his sword into the man and withdrew, turning in time to block another soldier, before pushing his opponent's sword to the ground, lifting his own up, and thrusting his sword into the man's soft belly.

A fire ball shot past Gwaine's head, and a cry of pain sounded behind him. He looked back, seeing a guard with a burn wound on his chest. Gwaine looked in front of him, nodding at the man in a dark cloak who shot another fire ball at other soldiers. Gwaine turned around and rejoined the fray; wondering what Merlin was doing now.

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Warrick tensed when he heard the approaching footsteps. He knew that the passage was a hidden one, but Warrick didn't want to take chances; he drew his sword, and stood just behind the corner that the footsteps were quickly approaching from. Soon the advancing people were close enough that their voices could be heard by Warrick, though he still could not place who they were.

"Are you sure you know where we are?"

"Yes, yes, see we're right here." There was a crinkle of paper, then, "They should be around here… somewhere."

"So you don't know where we are?"

"No. I don't know where _they_ are… I could just shout for them. Maybe they'll hear us."

"_Mer_lin."

As soon as his brother's name was said, Warrick wondered how he had not recognized the voices immediately, and moved out from around the corner, "Merlin!"

Merlin looked up from down the tunnel before turning to Arthur, "See. I told you they would be here." Arthur rolled his eyes, as they met Warrick and his group half way.

Warrick spoke, "Well then, I suppose this is it."

Merlin nodded, "There's no avoiding it anymore. Unwin has hurt too many this time." They stood in silence for a minute, "We should go."

Warrick looked back to his group, "Wymer, you will bring Arthur to the troop he's leading at the gates." Wymer however didn't move, and Warrick and Merlin both looked to him in surprise at his silent defiance. The knight had his head bowed, and held his staff in a bone crushing grip. Warrick spoke again, "Did you hear me Wymer?"

Wymer raised his head, and took a few steps forward, his quarterstaff clicking on the rock as he used it as a walking stick. "I heard you loud and clear my prince. But this is not a good idea… I will do as you command, but I do not agree." He looked to Arthur, "Well then, follow me Prince Arthur." Wymer walked back through the group of knights, who parted to let them pass, Arthur following behind.

Arthur turned calling back to Merlin, "Be careful Merlin! If I hear that you got yourself killed… I'll kill you again!"

Merlin laughed, "Same with you Arthur! And good luck!" As soon as Arthur was gone, Merlin frowned, his unease building. He turned to his Wymer and the knights, "Let's go. We have to get to Unwin."

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Morgana looked at the army that had come out of nowhere. She had heard Merlin call for the battle to begin, as did everyone else. She had seen how quickly the townspeople came out to fight. She wondered where they had gotten the weapons they now held, Unwin had said that they had searched high and low for any secret stashes. Which also led her to wonder why they had not fought back before, but perhaps they were waiting for their king to back them up.

A group came out of the trees at the main gate, arrows flying up to hit the guards on the wall, magic flying at the gate, soldiers attacking the guards on the ground. It was a small group all considered. Morgause's spy had said Uther sent 1000 men to fight with them. Morgana saw a flash of red below her as she deflected an arrow from hitting her. Her anger boiled, but at the same time she realized there were Camelot soldiers and knights fighting down there, and at the same time, it seemed the Snowdonian knights were still using their magic. They had thought that there would be no magic coming from their opponents with Camelot fighting alongside them, but it appeared they were wrong. This could pose a problem.

Morgana's eyes flashed and a ball of fire appeared in her hand. She had soon discovered that she had a fire affinity like Morgause. She had also learned that that affinity was the reason her magic manifested in the way that it had; starting the fire in her room. Morgana flung the fire ball at a Camelot knight. It soared through the air, but then… it stopped. The flames stopped in mid-air as it fizzled out. The faint line of a golden barrier was visible. She screamed her anger, and looked around seeing that the arrows from Unwin's archers and were also not penetrating the barrier; nor were the other sorcerer's smaller magic. She turned around, to look over at the town on the other side of the wall.

A new group of people had joined the fray of peasants, guards, and soldiers. Morgana counted ten people in dark cloaks, all of the same color. Seven of them appeared to be fighting with magic, sword, and dagger alike. The other two were going to fallen townspeople and healing them. The last one had her hood down, dark brown hair flying around her face with the breeze, and unnerving amethyst eyes, that were staring directly at her. The woman stood _on the roof _of one of the houses.

Morgana shot a blast of magic at her, but the woman just stepped out of the way, moving nimbly on the roof. Morgana was becoming very annoyed, but she smirked as a thought struck her. She turned to the townspeople and began to fire spells at them. She became infuriated however, when the woman on the roof continued to block most of her spells. Morgana growled her frustration. She began to fire another spell, only to stop mid word and drop to the ground as a bloody wyvern flew down towards her. The relatives of the dragons flew down the mountains and began to jump onto the walls as well, flinging their barbed tails, and fighting with tooth and claw against everyone who fought for Unwin. Some of the wyvern flew towards the castle as well, and began to force their way through the soldiers there as well.

Morgana had expected this, but what she did not expect was when a dragon; a magnificent should be dead _dragon,_ flew down from the clouds and circled the castle, roaring in rage. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw it. She had believed Uther killed all the dragons, but here was one now, fighting _against_ her. The dragon suddenly changed direction and began to fly straight at her. She gasped and ran to the nearest tower on the wall, diving in just as the dragon came by, fire shooting out of its mouth. Morgana ran down the stairs of the tower and towards the castle. She had to find Morgause and tell her what was happening. They had underestimated the force that was coming their way.

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Wymer grumbled under his breath in annoyance as he led Arthur to where the group of soldiers he would lead was waiting. This was going to cause problems, he needed to be there if Unwin's power manifested. His staff clicked in the ground, as he thought in silence, but eventually his worry won and he stopped; whirling around to face Arthur. "Alright listen to me prince. You're going to continue down this path, take two rights, then the third left. After passing four other passages, you're going to come to an intersection, go down the one on your right for ten feet, then turn and push on the right wall. Follow the stairs, and you'll be with your group. You got that?"

Arthur blinked and nodded. As Wymer moved passed, Arthur turned around and called after him, "Where are you going?"

Wymer kept moving as he yelled back, "To keep that idiot of a king from destroying everything that he worked for!"

Arthur ran to him and grabbed his arm, "You're going to have to do better than that."

Wymer sighed, resigning himself, "Alright, you want answers. Fine. History is repeating a battle fought long ago; a new power lies in wait of its arrival. Should it come, then the time of which the prophets speak, shall remain uncertain. This power, this entity will be able to do what was once thought impossible. Should Merlin awaken it, then we will all be doomed. History will be rewritten. Destinies will die. Go to your soldiers, prince. Get the gates open like he wants you to. It will keep this battle in our favor, but I can't be here right now." He yanked his arm from Arthur's grip and continued back the way he had come, at a quick pace.

Arthur watched him go, before turning and running in the direction Wymer had told him. What the old knight had told him didn't sound good, and right now if getting those gates open would help, he was going to do it. He had spent plenty of time on the way to Snowdonia studying the maps he had been given. Arthur now knew the kingdom's layout almost as well as its knights. He ran faster.

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Unwin stood in the crater, The Pit, they called it. No one knew how it had been made, only that it was now used for magic tournaments, and held some powerful magical artifacts in its storage place. He picked up the manacles that had once been used on Merlin. Even he could feel how the enchanted iron wanted to suck the magic from him. Unwin hid them under his jacket, and looked around some more. He picked up a sword, the blade was stained red, not from blood but because of the color it had become when the magic was put within it. The magic allowed the word to penetrate any armor; no matter how thick or strong. It could cut through many spells and on top of that every cut it made would make the wound burn, as if it the blade had been searing fire, but would not spill any blood; forcing the wounded to live and suffer the pain the blade created. It would be the perfect weapon to use on his son's murderer.

The door to the storage room crashed open, and a boy came in, a sword in one hand, and a familiar amulet around his neck. The amulet held a carved griffin in it, made from blue agate. Unwin recognized it, the amulet was Merlin's and was given to him for protection, for that is what the stone was believed to do. Protect from the dreams, stress and most importantly the draining of energy. The stone had turned out to work well if he remembered correctly. The boy had worn it once, and when during that time was attacked. Even the strongest magic blocking potion the prince's- no king's- assassin could find, did nothing while the boy wore the necklace. But of course this boy standing here was not Merlin, it was the serving boy.

Unwin turned towards the boy fully and smiled, "So you've returned to me. Such a fool you are."

The boy held the sword in a ready position as he spoke, "You killed my friend, you forced me to watch, and then you killed my mother, my father. My baby sister! And for what? To get me to tell you how to kill Merlin. You're a monster. All you do is kill, and now it's time that you got what's been coming for you!" The boy ran at him sword in a position that would skewer him if he didn't move. He stepped to the side, and shot a bolt of magic at the boy, however it only ricocheted off the barrier the amulet had created. Unwin swung his sword up and it clashed with the boy's, however Unwin was much stronger and the boy's sword fell to the ground.

Unwin stabbed the boy in the stomach, and he screamed out in agony. Unwin yanked the sword back out and watched the boy fall. He took the amulet from the boy's neck and placed it around his own, before making one last cut across the boy's chest for good measure. As the boy screamed in agony, new voices yelling, outside the storage vault. He smirked and dragged the boy out, still screaming, to show Merlin what awaited him.

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Merlin ran into The Pit, as he heard the screams, the knights and his brother yelling at him. And then Unwin dragged out the source of the screams. "Kyle! What did you do to him you bastard?!"

Unwin dropped Kyle, and twirled a sword in his hand as he spoke, "You don't recognize the blade? A shame."

Except Merlin did recognize it, and he worried what would become of Kyle. He looked to his fallen friend, and back up to Unwin. "I'm going to kill you for what you did. You've gone too far this time!"

Unwin growled, "Kill me like you killed my son? You're just a murderer aren't you?"

"No. You're the murderer, the monster. You killed my father, you killed my friends, my family. You've killed innocents! And for what? Revenge? No, that's long past now. You've become addicted to death. You even kill your own men."

Unwin charged forward and swung his sword at Merlin, even as the king blocked it with a knife. Unwin began to feel the power rising in him, fueling him, feeding off his anger; his need; his grief. He swung at Merlin again and again, growing angrier every time he was blocked.

Merlin brought another knife up to block the sword, his magic giving him strength to aid in the fight. He brought his other knife towards Unwin's open right side, only for it to be blocked by Unwin's sword. Merlin knew that Unwin was fast, but never before had he been this quick. He dived to the side, dodging the sword, as he then rolled and pushed himself back up on to his feet. His eyes flashed gold as he shook the ground with his magic, but Unwin seemed unaffected. It was then that he noticed his amulet hanging from his neck. "Damn." He whispered under his breath.

He stopped the spell, and brought his knives up to continue to block Unwin's blows as he advanced. Unwin continued to push Merlin back, until he messed up and lost his footing. Merlin took the opportunity to strike Unwin in the side.

Unwin cried out in anger as the first blood was spilt. The amulet glowed brightly as it pulled the power inside him into reach, and he grasped it. Unwin had made a vow to get his revenge for what Merlin had done to his son, and he intended to keep it. The new power surged through Unwin's veins, and his eyes flashed red. He shot his magic at Merlin, intending to force the king to his knees, but his new power had other plans, it took him over, feeding off of his darkest thoughts, as they melded into one being.

Merlin was thrown across The Pit, and into the wall, the force of the hit knocking him unconscious, at the same time Wymer ran into The Pit, cursing as he saw Unwin. The sorcerer was beginning to change shape, and to the knight's horror he began to look more and more like his father, Safwyl. But then it began to change more until it resembled more of what might be a mix of a demon and the Celt's image of Balor- the death bringer. Its horns stuck out of a helmet that covered the upper half of his face, yet its obvious glowing red eyes could still be seen, it was twice the size of any man Wymer had ever met. Its mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. It had thick black armor, and claws on its hand that gripped the red bladed sword, now engulfed in flames, and twice its original size. Wymer let out a cry of frustration, anger, and lack of hope. He had been too late to stop Unwin from evolving into this beast, this new entity.

The entity roared, and threw Wymer and the now approaching knights and prince, back, but Wymer landed only hard enough to be temporarily stunned. The beast disappeared and reappeared in the same second next to Merlin. It reached out and clasped two manacles to the king's wrists, at the same time Wymer felt the magic flowing from the earth and into the being, and then into the manacles, which now glowed red before going black as night. Merlin screamed even in his unconscious state, and somehow Wymer knew exactly what had just occurred; the manacles, which before blocked magic from being used but left the connection, now cut away the connection to magic entirely. What that meant for Merlin who had been connected to it for his whole life, he didn't know, he only knew that it was bad.

The creature disappeared again, but did not reappear. Wymer pushed himself up and began to move quickly to Merlin. He knelt down and turned Merlin over, reaching to touch the manacles, only to pull back as the burned him. He shook Merlin, until the young king woke up, and he sighed in relief. "Merlin, come on. You have to get up." Merlin, however, only looked at him blankly. Wymer slapped him across the face, "Merlin snap out of it!"

The raven headed boy groaned and blinked, "Wymer? What happened? Why do I feel like I've been on the cider for three weeks straight?"

"Oh thank god you're well enough to make jokes."

Merlin looked at the knight with confusion. "I wasn't joking."

"Oh. Well, you're alive and that's good enough. Unwin has evolved Merlin, I'm not sure if he's even in there anymore. A new entity has been born, and it's more powerful than could ever be imagined… Kilgharrah came to me the other night. He said that this entity will have the ability to alter destiny. Merlin, I don't think it can be stopped."

Merlin began to breath heavily and Wymer became worried when he saw the sweat on his forehead, but yet the boy spoke, "There's always… a way Wymer. I don't feel… so good."

"Merlin, please. Please get up, fight it. You're Emrys. This entity might be changing destiny as we speak, but nothing will change who you are. You can fight this. You're stronger than some stupid magic blocking manacles."

Merlin shook his head, "You know… that… they're not just… manacles… anymore. They're… cutting me off… entirely… from… my magic." Wymer let a tear fall from his face as Merlin closed his eyes. It seemed that all hope was now lost. He felt Merlin's pulse as it slowed. And he let the tears fall.

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Arthur caught up to the group of soldiers, nodding at Braden and taking his place as leader. "Alright, according to Merlin if we follow this straight, eventually we'll come to a ladder leading up to an abandoned building next to the gates. We'll go through there and open them up, allowing Jarret to lead his men in. They nodded and then began to run with him, ready to join the battle.

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Jarret through another bolt of magic at the gate; Unwin had obviously had it reinforced with strong magic. He heard a distant chanting and felt the powerful magic as it was called forth. He looked up at the walls to see about twenty sorcerers chanting together, arms raised to the sky. Kilgharrah flew towards them, but something managed to block even him and the dragon roared in fury.

Suddenly Jarret noticed that a light was beginning to gather in front of the sorcerers, and the then the light began to turn black. The battle halted, the wyverns stood still, along with all the men and Kilgharrah. It was as if time stopped. He turned to Silias who stood behind him. "What are they doing?"

Silias looked at him with terrified eyes, "They are using some of the most powerful, darkest magic there is. A magic not used for decades even before The Purge. It will break through the barrier. There's no stopping it."

Jarret turned to his men, "Fall back! Get out away from the walls! The men quickly ran back just as the ball of darkness was hurled at them. There was a loud crash, much like that of braking glass only magnified tenfold, followed by the screams of those caught in the way of the darkness as it stretched out and incinerated everyone who came in contact with it; reducing them to ash.

As soon as it dissipated Jarret led the men back into the battle, even knowing that they, were now, completely unprotected. All he could do was hope that Arthur would lead his group of soldiers to the gates soon.

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Vevina stood on the roof of the very building Arthur would be coming out from. She had seen the magic that the sorcerer on the wall had used. She knew that the shield, that Bevan had had his group create, was now gone. She knew that the sorcerer's main focus would now be on the fight below her, and that Arthur would need protection if they were noticed.

And just minutes after Jarret had begun to attack again Arthur made his appearance. They escaped notice as they worked their way to the gate tower, containing the mechanism that opened said gates.

One sorcerer noticed them and shot a wave of magic meant to kill at the golden haired prince. Vevina in turn, blocked it with her own magic, before shooting the sorcerer off the wall and out to Jarret's side of the wall. Having now gained the attention of the other sorcerers, Vevina began to move from roof to roof, dodging and firing magic herself back at them.

She smirked as she saw Arthur enter the tower with the rest of the soldiers. Some remained outside and fought off the guards attempting to stop them, the others were probably helping Arthur turn the wheel. And soon enough the gates began to open and Jarret rushed in; A few druids, Camelot's soldiers and some Snowdonian soldiers and knights right behind him. Vevina dodge the invisible magic that was meant to throw her off. Watching as a wyvern knocked the shocked sorcerer off the wall. She wondered when the sorcerers would learn that invisible spells had no affect if she could still sense them.

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Arthur ran back out into the battle in the lower town. He swung his sword down at one soldier, before bending down and turning as he cut the man's stomach after being blocked. He got up and moved behind the soldier approaching him, whilst jamming the hilt of his sword into his collar bone- resulting in a loud crack as the bone broke and the soldier fell to the ground.

Arthur went through the crowd working back towards the castle, until suddenly he was forced to the ground himself. He rolled over to see the man who was about to stab him. Only for the man to suddenly fall on to him as sword was pulled from his stomach. Arthur pushed the soldier off of him, and smiled as he saw Gwaine.

The black haired man smiled as he fought another soldier, "Where you been mate? Merlin told me you two would find me before the battle!"

Arthur thrust his sword in another man's chest, "We didn't have time Gwaine. But I'm sure Merlin will make it up to you."

Gwaine laughed, "He can start by buying us all some ale after this is over. He was right when he told me Snowdonia's ale was good. It's not just that! It's cold as well. Magic sure seems like a good thing to have around. Nothing like cold beer; it's just not the same warm!"

Arthur and Gwaine stood back to back as the fought Unwin's men together; a circle of fallen soldiers beginning to form around them. Until suddenly a large explosion was heard as a black figure appeared hovering above the castle, and began to knock the wyverns out of the sky like they were flies.

Arthur stared in disbelief, the figure roared and the sky turned black as thunder echoed down, and lightening flashed across the sky, however the expected rain never fell. Arthur heard Kilgharrah roar, and looked to see The Great Dragon flying in a circle around the castle, shooting fire at the figure, but it never reached its target. Suddenly the figure disappeared, and Kilgharrah flew down towards the courtyard, seemingly extremely agitated.

And the Arthur heard Kilgharrah calling to him in his mind, much like Merlin had. _"The entity has awakened! The Battle of Powers repeats itself! Young Pendragon! Young Warlock! Only you can save us now!" _Arthur took one look around him, before running to the courtyard, because somehow he knew where to go.

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Merlin waited for death to take him. He couldn't feel Wymer as he held him anymore. He didn't feel the knight's tears. He didn't hear the sobs. He wondered how he had failed destiny. Or had it been destiny that had failed? He wasn't sure anymore. But then Kilgharrah's voice echoed in his head, _"The entity has awakened! The Battle of Powers repeats itself! Young Pendragon! Young Warlock! Only you can save us now!" _

Merlin couldn't figure out what he meant, until he realized that he was talking about Unwin. And then he realized that Kilgharrah had allowed Arthur to hear this and that the prat would go fight the entity that Unwin had become. The dollop-head would get himself killed. He fought through the darkness surrounding him and opened his eyes, and spoke, "Help… me up."

Wymer gasped as he heard Merlin's voice and looked at his king he thought to be dead. "Merlin!" The boy winced at the sound, that had seemed louder than it was to his sensitive ears. "Sorry." The knight lifted Merlin up, and holing him by the shoulders. He looked to Merlin questioningly, and the king took a breath before speaking, "Bring me… to the… courtyard, outside… the castle… quickly."

Wymer nodded, as he half dragged Merlin out of The Pit, mentally apologizing for leaving behind the others without checking to see if they were ok. "Merlin. Why are we going to the courtyard?"

Merlin rested his head on Wymer's shoulder, "Unwin… Arthur… need to… protect." Wymer swallowed, and continued to lead Merlin out of the castle.

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Morgause had been in the courtyard fighting off the wyverns as they attacked the soldiers and sorcerers trying to defend the castle. And then suddenly she felt a shift in magic itself, and a black figure appeared at the top of the castle. Proving to be exceedingly strong as it swatted away the wyverns, and then came down to the courtyard, landing in front of her. "Who- what are you?!"

The creature roared, but it turned to a laugh, and soon sounded more human. "Why my dear Morgause, do you not recognize me?" The beast lifted her up with a motion of its clawed hand. "I told you, that you would be mine one day."

Morgause's eyes widened, as she breathed the name, "Unwin." The entity smiled before reaching out and shoving his hand _through_ her chest. Morgause screamed as Unwin stole her power, making it his own. She heard her sister scream her name before everything went black.

Morgana looked on in terror as her sister's magic was visibly torn from her. She screamed and threw her magic at the entity, only for it too to be absorbed. And then Arthur ran into the courtyard, sword at the ready. She looked him in the eye, just as the beast threw him to the side like a rag doll.

Morgana screamed as she was picked up, but before the beast could do anything another voice called out. "Unwin! Leave her… alone and come finish… what you started! This…. is between you… and me!" Morgana was dropped to the ground and she looked to Merlin who stood leaning heavily on a knight's shoulder panting, and looking for all intents and purpose like he should be dead. She watched as Merlin somehow found the strength to walk by himself and stand before the beast twice his size.

Merlin stood struggled to remain upright, as the entity loomed above him. But somehow he found the strength to dodge around the attacks the beast made with its sword. He noticed Arthur get up from where he had lain on the ground, moving to join him, his sword held aloft and looking for an opening. Merlin pulled out his knives, and the two began to circle the entity.

And then very suddenly two things happened at once; Arthur managed to make a cut along the entity's leg, and the creature sent Merlin flying into a wall. Wymer rushed over to help Merlin, as the entity lifted Arthur into the air, and struck him with the blazing sword. Arthur screamed in agony as it burned him, closing the wounds too quickly for them to bleed, forcing him to feel the pain.

"Arthur! Leave him alone!"

The entity laughed, sounding more human once again, "But Merlin why would I do that? You should feel the same pain that I have. And then be forced to live on with that pain. A prisoner forced to suffer the worst possible torture."

"Please. Please leave him be. Please." Merlin felt so helpless. His magic was no longer there, and he was dying because of it, but his soul wouldn't let go of its small grip of this world. That alone was causing him agony, but seeing Arthur being hurt for something he had done was just as bad, and added its pain as well.

The beast cut Arthur again, as the prince of Camelot was held in the air by an invisible hand. Merlin screamed as his heart cried out with Arthur, and his mind tried to reach for magic that wasn't there. But then Warrick and Ileana came out of the castle, and screamed his name. And all he could do was watch as the entity, Unwin, lifted them into the air next to Arthur, and forced them to suffer the same torture. And then Wymer was up there too, and Merlin couldn't take it anymore.

Merlin screamed, his back arching, and wrists burning as he fought against the manacles that had cut him entirely from his magic. And then warmth spread over him and he was suddenly somewhere else.

He looked around, and all he saw was white, until, wait was that? That's his father! And his mother, and Raymond! He called out to them. And they smiled. His mother stepped forward, "Merlin, my son. Oh how you've grown! I'm so proud of you; all that you've accomplished. I always knew you would be great."

Merlin cried and hugged his mother, "I've missed you. I've missed you so much." And then he ran and hugged his father and brother, before a thought occurred to him. "Am I dead?"

His father shook his head, "No Merlin."

"Then where am I? What happened?"

"You aren't in Avalon, but rather the space between the living world, and the land of the dead. You're body has been too damaged for your soul to remain, but it still clings to it."

Merlin looked to his father in confusion, "Then, I'm stuck here?"

Raymond answered him this time, "No brother. You simply need to use your magic to heal your body and return to it."

"But I'm can't reach my magic, I was completely cut off from it. The manacles-"

"Are simply that. Manacles. You are Emrys. The most powerful warlock that has ever, and will ever live. You are the child of the earth, the sea, and the sky. Magic is the very fabric of this earth, and you were born of that magic. You are magic itself. Nothing can ever separate you from it, for it is who you are." Balinor had a proud smile on his face as he spoke the words to his son. "I love you Merlin. _We_ love you, we're so proud of you, and now it is time you embrace your destiny."

And then his family was gone, and Merlin was in a cave, a cave filled with crystals. "Where am I?" He wondered aloud. Jumping when he actually received an answer.

"You are in the Crystal Cave, Emrys; the birth place of magic." Merlin turned to see a man with white hair and a beard, obviously on the older side.

"Who are you? How do you know who I am?"

"I am Taliesin. The moment of our meeting has been written for many, many years. However it seems as though this fated meeting has changed to now, the reason for it as well."

Merlin's brows furrowed in confusion, "Then why am I here?"

Taliesin smiled, "It seems as though I am to witness history. You must step into the heart of the cave." He motioned to an area seemingly lit by the crystals in a white light, "You must embrace your destiny."

Merlin walked over, and looked back at Taliesin, who lifted his head respectfully. Merlin swallowed and looked back as he took his first steps into the light. And then he was bathed in it. He suddenly felt, saw, tasted, smelt, and heard everything that ever was, that ever will be. He felt the magic of the earth thrumming below, above, all around him; he felt the beating of the hearts of every person, every animal. He heard the waves of the sea as it washed the sand of a beach. He tasted the salt in the air from the water. He saw people bringing in crops from farms, he saw horses running free in lanes, eagles soaring the skies, dragons fighting humans, and then the dragonlords emerging and bringing peace. He saw magic bring life to the world, he saw the kings of old, He saw the Battle of Powers as Safwyl unbalanced life and death, and corrupted those with magic. He watched Safwyl fall, and a lone man rise up. He stood witness to Arthur's birth; he watched Ygraine die. He heard the screams of the people Uther killed, he smelt the fire, the charred flesh. He watched Arthur be crowned king, he saw Arthur die at Mordred's hands. He saw Camelot fall, and new people take over Albion. He saw a world where people travelled in metal boxes, and buildings touched the sky. He saw everything, and all the while he felt the magic flowing in his blood. And then he saw Snowdonia as his people fought for their city, as Arthur and his friends, _his family_ was tortured and he saw his body, lying unmoving on the ground, pale as snow, beaten and bloodied, and broken.

And with a thought he stood above himself, looking down at his body, and he let the magic flow, and healed himself. And then he was on the ground, opening his eyes as he looked upon Unwin, now possessed entirely by the entity. And he had had enough. He raised the staff that he only now realized was in his hand and shot lightning at the entity with a simple flash of his eyes.

The entity flew back under the force, cracking the castle wall as he hit it. Arthur, Warrick, Ileana, and Wymer all fell to the ground, but Merlin stopped them, and set them down gently. And they stood, as Arthur walked over to him. "Merlin?"

"Yes Arthur. It's me you prat, and-"

"Merlin look out!" But Merlin was already moving. He grabbed Arthur's arm and suddenly they were behind the entity as it brought it's sword down on where they had just been. Merlin looked to where Arthur's sword was, and with a flash of his eyes he held it in his hand, before he handed it to Arthur. And then once again they were circling the entity, with new strength; new hope.

Merlin shot lightning at the entity as Arthur swung his word on the other side. The black creature stopped the lightning with a magic shield, but could not stop Arthur when he made a cut on its side. The entity turned to Arthur, and Merlin struck its back with his magic causing the being to fall to the ground. Arthur met Merlin's eyes, and then they were moving in sync. Merlin lifted his hand at the same time that Arthur lifted his sword. Then they brought them down at the same time. Blue-white lightning came down striking the beast, at the same time that Arthur plunged his sword into its heart.

A white light enveloped them spreading out into the city, the rest of the kingdom, then beyond the borders. Magic users looked up to the light hope rekindled; kings looked to it in awe, peasants in wonder. Plants seemed to grow greener, a weight seemed to lift, and then it was gone. And in Snowdonia, Emrys stood with The Once and Future King, the only thing separating them- the charred black stone that outlined where a great evil had once stood. And the cheers of the people rung throughout the city as the last soldier fell, and the skies cleared.

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**Don't worry it's not the end! It can't be, there's still questions to be answered. Like- wait what happened to Morgana?"**

**I haven't forgotten about her! She still has a role in this story.**

**Now onto the thing with the amulet. I know that some people might not have understood, so I'm going to say it- the reason that this amulet is so important is because it was what awakened Unwin's 'power'. And the reason it was agate is because that particular stone was also believed to "balance energies, and awaken talents". I just found that so fitting you know.**

**And I hope that you all caught everything that happened in this chapter, I know it was a bit all over the place... I couldn't really avoid it this time.**

**And what did you think of the battle as a whole. Was it good? I hope so, I thought so, but that's just me, and I'm kind of giddy right now. Might be a side affect of the epic music I've been listening to for the past... twelve and a half hours, as I finished this.**

**Anyways, let me know what you thought of it! And happy reading and writing! ;)**

**P.S. I hope people can read this now. I had some PM's from people saying they couldn't open it. **


	29. Chapter 28

**You must all hate me right now for taking so long on this chapter, and since I think you all just want to read this chapter- and at this point probably don't want to hear me rant, probably about as much as I don't want to see another homework assignment in my life again- so I'm just going to shut up and let you read this. **

**Enjoy!**

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Merlin sighed, relieved that it was finally over; that Unwin was gone, and that he wouldn't be coming back this time. The sorcerer had caused much pain, and had changed everything. Once Unwin had become the entity during the battle- even for the short time that it was- he had changed many destinies. Nothing would be as it was. But he couldn't help but wonder if this way would possibly be better. When he had seen all of time, he had seen not only what was but what will be, and what could be. The future was no longer set in stone. The actions and choices made from this point forth were going to lead to one of many outcomes instead of one definite. Yes, in the end destiny would remain as it was for some, but how they would come about would be different. And those whose destinies had been lost or were no longer the same, well, they now had the choice of what they would become.

Merlin looked up as Arthur walked over to him, carefully going around the blackened stone where Unwin had finally been killed. They stood staring at each other for a moment before Arthur spoke, "I thought you were dead."

Merlin swallowed, "I'm sorry." Arthur choked out something between a sob and a laugh; having had a full conversation with Merlin in the few words spoken between them. It wasn't until a group of three, Wymer, Warrick and Ileana, appeared at their side was another word spoken.

Warrick pulled Merlin into a hug and cried tears of both sorrow and joy, as Ileana looked Merlin up and down before speaking to her brother in all but blood. "What happened? How did you…"

Merlin broke away from his younger brother's grip as he looked at all of the people surrounding him. "I embraced my destiny; accepted everything that it entails."

Arthur was the next to speak, curious as to what exactly it did _entail. _"And what would that be exactly?" And suddenly Merlin looked like a man who was wiser than his age would let on; his blue cloak billowing in a breeze, the gold and silver threads on it appearing to swirl and twist around him- like a dance- and a new staff in his hand which was white like bone that twisted around itself at the top; a small falcon suddenly landing on his shoulder- Níl. And suddenly Merlin looked the wise, powerful warlock of legends.

Merlin locked eyes with Arthur as he spoke, "That I am the a child of magic, that I am Emrys… and knowledge.

Arthur frowned in confusion, "Knowledge?"

Merlin looked up as Kilgharrah suddenly flew off the top of the castle, where he had perched to watch the battle, and flew towards the mountains. "I accepted all the knowledge of the world. I didn't understand how hard that is until now. Knowing everything and many times knowing that there is nothing you can do to prevent fate. But also knowing everything about everyone… without knowing something, you can do nothing. Could you wield a sword if you knew naught how? Knowledge is power that cannot be matched; and I hold it all. I am the Keeper of Knowledge, and yet there is so much I do not know."

Arthur was even more confused than before, "What do you mean?"

Merlin looked him in the eyes as he spoke, "Knowing all there is, was, will and could be is too much for one mind to carry. So it is stored, there to access when needed. And I suspect it will sometimes manifest in visions much like for seers, but at the same time the future has been shattered. Now it's like trying to piece together the remains of a mirror broken into billions of tiny pieces that can be put together in more ways than one. I know all the actions and consequences, all the outcomes, but I don't know which outcome goes with which series of event, which action and choices lead to which consequence… There are some that cannot be changed, not many but some."

Merlin turned to look directly at Wymer but when he spoke he still spoke to Arthur, "Those are the events determined by fate, the ones left untouched by Unwin. They can be put off, but never avoided. Then the question becomes not what or how, but when and where." Wymer's eyes widened and his breath caught. Merlin hadn't been speaking to him, but it was meant for him to hear. Wymer swallowed as Merlin turned back to Arthur, "I know everything but I _don't_ know what happens every second. Do you understand?"

Arthur gaped, before realizing that Merlin was waiting for an answer and spoke, "Umm, uh yeah… I think so." Merlin chuckled under his breath and Arthur glared at him, before the group of five began to talk amongst themselves.

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Morgana sat where she had been dropped by Unwin when Merlin had demanded the beast's attention. She had been, as much as she didn't want to admit it, scared that she would lose her magic like Morgause. And then Merlin, of all people, had come and saved her.

Morgana knew that Merlin had been painfully aware of what Unwin could have done to her. She knew that he could have just let Unwin take her magic from her and then defeat the sorcerer, never have to worry about her as a threat again; but he didn't. He had saved her. But a voice in her head still told her bitterly that if it had not been for Merlin in the first place, none of this would have happened.

Morgana looked around for Morgause, quickly finding her lying unconscious not too far away. She got up and ran quietly over to the blond haired woman that had taken her in. Morgana knelt beside Morgause, as she shook her and spoke desperately, "Morgause. Morgause. Morgause please wake up. _Please_." However Morgause did not show any signs of regaining consciousness.

Morgana was so caught up in her own grief that she didn't even think to check for a pulse and immediately assumed Morgause to be dead. Fury took hold of her and she stood and turned finding the one she blamed for Morgause's death. Her pure rage mixed with her old feelings of betrayal of the man, who was once her friend, roused her magic, and before Morgana knew what she was doing, a beam of pure power and magic shot from her hand and towards her target.

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Merlin had just finished telling Warrick of his visit with their family during his 'spiritual journey', before recalling the event that occurred in the Crystal Cave. Wymer listened as much as he could, but he was still preoccupied with what Merlin had said to Arthur, when Merlin had looked directly at him. The words still reverberating in his ears, and the sad look in Merlin's eyes imprinted in his mind. He had quickly caught on to what Merlin was trying to convey to him, and his mind unwittingly drifted to the battle he had once fought in; The Battle of Powers.

_Flashback:_

_ Fire. Fire was everywhere around me, burning. Black smoke smothered me. Choking me. I couldn't breathe. Around me lay my friends and fellow warriors, the smell of burnt flesh, of death filled my nose. The screams of pain tormented my ears._

_I grabbed my staff, thankful that it had been enchanted to withstand flames, and lifted myself up, using it as support as I made my way through the flames. I stumbled on the rubble littering the ground, but I forced myself to keep moving even as my leg protested it's pain. I knew it was probably broken, what with the angle it was twisted at, but I kept moving. I had to get out. I had to survive. My wife and son depended on it. _

_I stopped as someone emerged from the flames. I spat his name bitterly, "Safwyl." He was the reason I was here. The sorcerer had gone to all the sacred places of the Old Religion he could find, and had stolen the magic from the land itself. And the magic that Safwyl hadn't taken he had left corrupted by his malice, and turned it against itself. _

_I reached for my dagger on my waist, knowing it might be the only weapon that I could use to protect myself, but Safwyl's eyes flashed a sickening orange and the flames around them slashed at my hand. I pulled it back, and the Safwyl attacked. The moment went by faster than I could register, but my instincts were good in my prime, and I managed to fight Safwyl. _

_Somehow I had pulled out my dagger without Safwyl noticing and had cut a hideous wound across the sorcerer's arm. I backed up towards the opening in the flames around us, coughing as I struggled to breathe. I lost sight of Safwyl and opted to keep moving._

_And then suddenly pain spread across my shoulder, and I watched my skin turned black as it was scorched by a blade made of white-hot flames. I only just registered Safwyl's face, smiling with sadistic glee as I fell to my knees in front of him. _

_I cried out as I was lifted up by an invisible hand that pressed on all my wounds. I gasped trying to find air in the deadly black smoke as Safwyl move right up to me, unaffected by the fire and the lack of air. I barely heard him as he spoke to me, hand grasping my face, "Did you really think you could have defeated me Wymer. Wymer the Victorious, the invincible warrior they call you. Not so strong now are you?"_

_The invisible hands tightened their grip, my wounds sending bursts of pure agony through my body as I rasped out the words I needed to say to the bastard in front of me. "Hiding… behind your magic… are we Safwyl? Even now…" I gripped my dagger in preparation as I spoke, "I'm stronger… than… you think… stronger than you… will… ever be." _

_I almost cheered as I saw my provocation work, and anger flash across Safwyl's eyes. He lost control of his magic, and the flames grew brighter, hotter, taller. I heard the rumble of the storm his power summoned as lightning flashed high above the bright flames and dark smoke. Safwyl's reckless move had also caused him to lose his hold on the magic forcing my to remain still. I dropped to the ground, but managed to stay upright as I plunged my dagger deep into his heart. _

_Safwyl dropped to the ground at the same time as I did, my pain finally catching up with me. I looked over at the sorcerer that had caused the destruction around me, and knew that I couldn't take any chances that he was still alive. I crawled over and pulled my dagger out of his chest once more, and slit Safwyl's throat. _

_I dropped back to the ground as the earth below me began to rumble and shake; the flames moving to greater heights around me; the sudden wind blowing the flames into a slant, and feeding the hungry fire. And just as my eyes began to close the skies finally opened up and the rain poured down, smothering the fire slowly. I thought of my wife, my son, knowing they would cry over my death. And I remembered that I had promised my son, little Jacob, that I would return, and then it would be safe for him to run outside and play again. And it was with that thought on my mind, that a vowed that I would return to him, just as the world faded to black._

_End flashback:_

A tear fell down Wymer's had been right in saying that he had cheated death that day. He had been the only one to walk away from that battle in the morning, and all that had remained around him had been wet ash. Even Safwyl's body had burned, but he had lived. Believing that whatever god there were had heard his plight, and had spared him so he could keep his promise. And later when he had returned home and found his village desolated, and everyone dead, he had known that had not been the case. He had cheated death, and death did not take kindly to those that did so.

What Wymer had seen in Merlin's eyes, he knew that he would die, and it would happen soon, because the balance needed to be kept. He had learned that much after the six years he spent with the druid after the battle.

He looked to Merlin again, about to say something to the young king, when he felt… something. Something coming at them with malicious intents, and when he turned, Wymer's eyes immediately looked onto the blazing power flying straight towards Merlin, and in that same second he made his decision.

Wymer jumped in front of Merlin, taking the power forged of hatred, pain and fury, and fell to the ground as Morgana's scream of frustration and Merlin's cry of surprise, rung through the courtyard. He watched dazed, from his position on the cold cobble-stones, as Merlin shot his own power back at Morgana, who in sudden fright grabbed Morgause's dead weight and teleported them out of the kingdom.

Merlin knelt down next to Wymer, followed by Warrick, Ileana, and Arthur. He smiled up to the young men and woman who he had fought alongside, making eye contact with Merlin. "I… I made… my death count… Emrys."

Merlin swallowed, tears in his eyes as he placed his hand upon the old knight. "Yes. Yes you did old friend. And you will be remembered forever and always, and with honor. You've done the people a great service, in both my kingdom and beyond; both today and in the past. Rest now, knowing that you are free, and your family waits for you."

Wymer, relaxed as he whispered onto the wind, "Thank you."

Merlin looked up into the faces of those around him, as Ileana grasped his arm and spoke softly, "You knew this would happen didn't you? You saw it in the cave?"

Merlin nodded quietly, "I did, but I didn't know when it would happen. And it would not be stopped. He figured it out, and he made sure that he would leave this world the way he wanted to. Surrounded by friends and saving another."

Ileana smiled and put an arm around Merlin's shoulder as they all stood up and walked back towards the castle.

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It was a couple hours after everyone had reunited with their families and visited home to clean up, and take a break after all that happened. Now the people of Snowdonia, the druids, and even Camelot's company of soldiers and knights stood in the courtyard below the balcony Merlin stood upon. Arthur had asked Merlin why he had wanted to make a speech so soon after a battle, and why he wouldn't wait until tomorrow, but Merlin had simply told him that it was tradition when a new king was to be crowned through war in Snowdonia. He hadn't explained any further, leaving Arthur wholly confused with what exactly Merlin had meant.

Now he stood behind Merlin, along with Warrick and Ileana. After everything that had happened Merlin's brother and 'sister', had accepted him into their family circle as a new 'brother'. Arthur watched Merlin hold up his hand in a gesture for quiet from the people bellow him. And his voice carried across the city, by magic, as he began to speak. "My people. My family. Today I look upon you with nothing but pride in my heart. Today you have fought hard, with bravery and courage… even after hope had seemed to have receded. So now as I stand before you I ask… Will you accept me as your king?"

Arthur choked on air, wondering why the hell Merlin had asked that, but Warrick and Ileana both put a hand on his shoulders and smiled at him, and as a cheer of 'long live King Merlin' swept across the people Arthur realized what Merlin had meant about tradition. It had long been an unspoken law of Snowdonia, that when a king died in war, and his son or daughter was to be crowned king or queen, that only with the people's consent would it be permitted. Even if there was none other to take the throne it would be up to the people. Arthur thought it a strange tradition, but for some reason it still made him smile.

And then the cheers had change to 'long live the king', until Arthur realized that wasn't what the people were saying, no not exactly. The people were saying 'long live _our_ king.' And when Arthur realized that he smiled even more. Deciding that Snowdonia truly was a unique kingdom, with a greatly united people- no not people… family. It wasn't long before the cheers died down, and Merlin expressed his thanks, and vowed to rule fairly, and with his people in mind, and then he turned around and sighed with relief as he faced Arthur, Warrick and Ileana.

Arthur immediately picked up on Merlin's emotions and spoke to him as he clapped him on the shoulder, "What? Did you think they _wouldn't_ accept you Merlin? After all you did?"

Merlin looked up at him, "Well…"

Arthur sighed, "You really are an idiot aren't you?"

Merlin grinned cheekily, "So what if I am? It's better than being a prat." The two smiled at each other as the laughed while Warrick and Ileana just shook their heads in amusement, as they headed towards the dining hall.

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**Alright I admit it's a bit short, and I guess a tad unorganized, but right now nothing in my life is organized so what-evs.**

**But anyways, I hope you all liked it. There aren't that many more chapters to go as I wrap up the final pieces of the story. And I have to admit I'm kind of sad that's it's already nearing its end. :'( And it's taken a completely different path to what I had originally planned. It probably came out better though. **

**So review, tell me what you thought. And if you have any suggestions for the last few chapters I'll be happy to consider them. And at this point they'll probably find their way into the story. **

**So Happy reading and writing my friends!**


	30. Chapter 29

**Ummm…. Hello? You don't look happy. I'm sorry. I really am. My life has turned into one big living hell the last couple months. I haven't had any free time. I'm not exaggerating either. On top of all my scheduling problems, it's just been hectic over here in MA. with all the crazy stuff happening, which really hasn't put me in a writing mood. To be honest I was just trying to get through life without keeling over from exhaustion. But alas, I'm alive. And so is this story. I've not abandoned it, as you can tell by this posting of a new chapter. Which, might I say, was a pain in the arse. Every time my computer so much as went into auto shutdown, this chapter and this chapter alone would be deleted from existence on my laptop, despite having saved it to infinity and beyond (you can blame my multimedia teacher for the Toy Story line. He had us watch it to learn about storyboarding), this was made even more annoying by the fact that my computer seems to have taken on a rebellious attitude with me; It's been crashing every other day. I'm not even going to get into the masses of homework I've had every night. And I've been having a lot of afterschool meeting for all sorts of stuff, along with family matters, the usual chores and what not. I've really been run haggard trying to live life instead of putting myself on auto-pilot.**

**But anyways, the point is I'm truly very sorry that this took so long to update, and fair warning to you all, this will probably not be the best chapter either. It will most likely seem a bit rushed at places, and have more spelling and grammatical mistakes than usual.**

**I also apologize to all those people I told that this should be up by Friday night. I had a bit of an accident this week while biking involving a car and a nasty sidewalk that decided to rip off my shoe as I skidded across it. Luckily nothing too serious, and I'm getting better now. It did however back me up a bit on my work load, and I probably won't be fully healed for about a month or so, but I can walk without a noticeable limp again. So that's good. **

**And let's all thank the idiot who decided to smoke in the NO SMOKING part of the hotel this morning at 12:30 AM, and managed to set off the alarms 3 distinct times. It gave me something of a revelation; **_**In a perfect world people would have enough common sense to not smoke in NO SMOKING zones, but I guess that's too much to ask for.**_

**And finally good news (without anything bad happening before it), it looks like some of my workload is beginning to lighten; even if it means I don't have a free weekend until mid-July. So this should be updated much sooner than the last few times. Hopefully. Apparently some other force has it out for me. I'm looking over my back every two minutes to make sure there's nothing unexpected coming my way anymore.**

**Tad bit of warning, as you'll notice this is split into multiple shorter chapters this time, the first chapter is rather terrible writing and quite short. But the second is better and longer, I think, but at this point I'm too tired to really tell. However it is split up simply for the sake of organization of the timeline. The second chapter in this update will be taking place a few days after the first chapter of the update. Just a bit of information there. **

**So without further ado, here's the new chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

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Arthur walked through the town looking for Merlin. He had grown to really love Snowdonia, not as much as Camelot of course, but the small kingdom and its people were beginning to grow on him. The people really did act like one giant family. Everywhere he looked, people were helping out others in repairing everything that had been damaged during the battle. Even the lords and ladies, he had met in the castle, had travelled to the town to help where they could. Arthur had offered to have some of his own men help out as well, but Merlin and his brother had thought it better that Camelot's soldiers and knights not be put to work cleaning up a city that was not part of Camelot. Instead they had agreed that they could help to gather up all of the guards from Unwin's patrols, which had been tied up in the forest, as well as their piles of weapons left by them. Arthur had been only slightly surprised when he had been told that the weapons of the captured men would be brought up to the caves in the mountain for future use if necessary, and enchanted not to rust from lack of care.

The prince looked around some more, until he found Merlin, his blue cloak moving in the slight breeze, as he used his magic to lift up stones, and put them back in their rightful places, in the cottage of a small family. Arthur smiled and walked up to him. "Merlin! There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."

Merlin didn't even glance at him as he spoke, while continuing to work on the cottage. "Oh? What did you need?"

"Well I was wondering… if I could send a message to my father to let him know that the battle was won."

Merlin frowned and his brow crinkled in confusion, but still his eyes shone gold as he work on the house, "Ok… You don't have to ask me first though."

"Uh… yeah I know that, but I umm… well I wanted to know if I could send it with Níl to deliver it. I mean, I heard that he was the fastest message carrier you have, and-"

"Arthur, of course you can use Níl to carry your message. What did you think I would say? No?"

Arthur looked pointedly at Níl, who was sitting comfortably on Merlin's shoulder, "Well you seemed really attached to the bird is all."

Merlin laughed as he set another stone into place, "You got it wrong Arthur. I do have a connection to Níl yes, but it's not me that's attached to him, it's him that's attached to me. Unless I say otherwise this bird will be right next to me."

"Riiight. Well, I have the message." Arthur said as he pulled said letter out of nowhere, "If it's ok to send it now."

"Sure." Merlin put the last stone into place and turned to look at Arthur for the first time. He pulled a piece of meat from a pouch hanging off his waist, and fed it to Níl, who no stood on Merlin's forearm. "Just roll up the letter and put it in Níl's harness and I'll send him off."

Arthur did so and then watched as Merlin lifted his arm a little, and Níl threw out his wings to keep balance. Arthur watched in curiosity as Merlin spoke to the small falcon. "Níl, take this message to Uther Pendragon. And then wait for his response." Arthur watched Níl cock his head before flying off into the sky, and heading towards Camelot. Merlin looked back at Arthur, "He should make it to your father in a couple days at most. So you can expect the response in four to five days."

"Right. Thanks."

"No problem… Out of curiosity, what did you tell your father about how the battle went? Must have been hard not to mention how we used magic as well, and to be honest, Uther seemed rather suspicious with how few men I asked for."

"I told him exactly what happened, I just left out the parts about the magic, and dragons. I also told him that with the help of your friends, which I referred to as a skilled swordsman named Gwaine, and a group of people who had been living in the mountains, that it was easy to infiltrate the citadel and attack from outside and within the walls of the city. And that Unwin never stood a chance."

Merlin smiled, "Well that _is_ true. What did you say about Morgana and Morgause?" As Arthur answered Merlin went back to work on the house.

"That the two witches that joined Unwin were easily taken down by the skill of both Snowdonia's and Camelot's knights, and that magic was defeated once again." Arthur frowned, "I'm glad that I was able to tell that to him through a letter, I don't think I could have said it to his face knowing what I do now about magic…. And speaking of Morgana and Morgause, shouldn't you be worried about them coming to get revenge?"

Merlin shook his head as he slipped the last stone into place on the cottage with his magic. "No. Morgause won't be much of a problem, it's Morgana we'll have to look out fo…" Merlin trailed off and Arthur's eyes widened as he shouted Merlin's name and caught the king as his eyes glazed over and he fainted.

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Morgana looked around, surprised to find herself at the Isle of the Blessed of all places. When she had teleported herself and Morgause, she hadn't expected to end up very far away. She never had completely mastered the spell, much to her disappointment. But finding herself quite far from where she had started, Morgana smiled, Morgause would be proud of her when she learned. But then she remembered that Morgause was dead, and whose fault was that but that traitor; that Betrayer; _Merlin_.

Morgana looked down to where Morgause lay at her feet, and picked her up; carrying her to the altar at the center of the island. The least she could do for the blonde was to give her a final resting place, and where better than at the center of a place blessed with magic.

She laid Morgause down on the stone, and smiled sadly. Morgana would not forget all that Morgause had taught her. A single tear fell down her cheek as she turned and began to walk away. She was only a few feet from the altar when a noise, not unlike that of someone taking a deep breath of fresh air, sounded behind her.

Morgana turned towards the sound, only to find Morgause now with slightly open eyes, breathing heavily, a rasping sound. She froze. Her mind not processing what was before her. Morgana was sure this was just a trick of the mind, but it was too real too be a dream. But nonetheless Morgana ran over to the fair haired woman, a smile lighting up her face, as she shouted in surprise and joy, "Morgause! You're alive! I thought- thought you were dead, but… how?!"

Morgause moved her head slightly, eyes drifting lazily as they took in their surroundings, before landing on Morgana. Her lips parted as she breathed out the words she wished to speak. "Morgan… You tel… eported." The blonde smiled and hummed in a way that made her seem almost delirious. Morgana frowned.

"What... What's wrong Morgause? Why are you like this?"

Morgause's face became troubled as she fought for the right words. "Ma- magic… My magic… is gone… but the isle…magic… the isle is… keeping me… alive… bu… but just… barely."

"Morgause…"

"No… shh… listen to me Mor-gana. I will live… as long… as I am here. You… Emrys… our plan… Emrys is… not weak… do… do not.. under…estimate him..."

"What do I do Morgause? It is the traitor's fault that you're like this. What can I do if he is so powerful?"

Morgause hummed again before speaking; her voice beginning to gain more strength. "Kill Uther while they… are open to attack."

Morgana smiled at the implications, "And then Arthur will go running home to father dear, and be unprotected, because _Merlin_ must stay behind and rule his kingdom. And once we have Arthur, we can kill Emrys."

Morgause smiled and nodded her head the best she could, before closing her eyes to sleep. The magic of the Isle slowly healing her.

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"Merlin? Merlin wake up. Come on." It was at this point that a few of the towns people notice that their king was passed out, and came over to see what had happened. They helped to lay him down, as comfortable as was possible, on the ground. A couple ran to get Haden, who was currently seeing to the injured alongside the druid healers.

A couple minutes later just as Haden showed up Merlin began to stir. He blinked before shooting up into a sitting position with fear in his eyes. Arthur and Haden grabbed him by the shoulders and laid him back down despite his protests. "I'm fine! Really!"

Arthur was about to speak, but the physician beat him to it, "Merlin you just fainted. Moving around too much is the worst thing you could do right now." Merlin grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest as he was forced to remain on his back. Haden sighed and began to ask questions. "What were you doing right before you passed out?"

"I was using my magic to fix the Rolfe's cottage, and talk to Arthur. That's all. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." Arthur, however, noticed that Merlin seemed to be worried about something, and he kept glancing at Arthur like he was going to up and disappear any second.

Haden spoke again, "Maybe you over stressed yourself. Using too much magic-"

Merlin interrupted, "Can make someone faint. I know. That's not what happened, one because I would have to use much, much more magic than that to pass out-"

"Merlin I know you think that but-"

"Haden, listen to me. I know why I fainted, and over using my magic isn't why. I'm fine. I know I am. And for the record I am much more capable concerning magic then I was when I left."

Haden looked dubious, "If you're so sure, than you can tell me what happened."

Merlin bit his lip, and looked away, "I- I had a vision about the future, that's all. Just took me by surprise. I'm fine now though, so if you would let me get up…"

"Alright. But I expect you to come by the infirmary later just to be safe."

"Fine. I'll come by before dinner." Haden nodded and back away, allowing Merlin to stand up. Once he was certain that Merlin wasn't going to collapse again Haden turned around and walked away. Merlin sighed and began to walk in the opposite direction, Arthur ran to catch-up.

"You saw something about the future?"

Merlin glanced at Arthur before answering hesitantly, "…Yes. I did."

"What did you see?"

"I can't say."

Arthur looked at his friend, "Why not? You can trust me."

Merlin visibly flinched, remembering their conversation about trusting each other back in Camelot. "It's not that I don't trust you Arthur. I meant it when I said I can't say. I can't tell you because I don't know what my vision was myself yet. The memory of it is fading, and all I have left is fragments. All I can say is that trouble is coming, and… I'm afraid. I don't know why yet… but I'm afraid.

Arthur was about to say something, but before he could, Merlin opened the door to the building that they had come to, and stepped inside. Arthur stood confused for a moment before following him in. It was as Arthur's eyes adjusted to the darker area, that he realized they were in a tavern. The room grew silent for a moment as they looked at the pair, before going back to whatever they were doing before the interruption. Arthur looked to Merlin only to find him pulling Gwaine out of a chair by the arm, and dragged him apparently straight through a wall. Arthur walked up to it; eyeing the numerous empty flagons at the table that Merlin had grabbed the man from, as he passed. He reached for the wall tentatively, but feeling no resistance as his hand passed right through, he closed his eyes and followed.

Arthur took a moment to quickly scan the surroundings. The room was small, but not too small. It could easily hold a group of 20 or so men. In the center was a table surrounded by chairs. In one of those chairs sat an obviously drunk Gwaine, with a smirking Merlin standing above him. Arthur watched as Merlin force fed Gwaine water, from the skin tied to Merlin's waist. Gwaine spluttered a bit, but before he could do anything Merlin whispered a spell and suddenly Gwaine was grabbing his head.

"Ow! That hurts."

Merlin smirked, "You brought it on yourself my friend. I told you I would pay for your ale while you stay here I didn't, however, give you permission to drink the tavern dry. And anyways, I need you sober, I have a favor to ask."

"Oh what can I do for you _sire._" Gwaine said smirking, and before Merlin could get a word in Gwaine looked over at Arthur, "Hello again."

Arthur gave a bemused look, "Hello Gwaine." Merlin looked between the two. He smiled as he saw a new found respect for each other in both if the men's eyes. He was glad to know his friends were getting along. Arthur spoke again, "By the way Gwaine, I never got a chance to thank you for what you did back there. If it wasn't for you I-"

"No need Princess. Anyways, Merlin would have had my head if I let you die, and then I-"

"Let you die? You almost died? Why was I not aware of this Arthur?! You almost died?!" Arthur grimaced at Merlin's outburst.

"So did you Merlin. And I'm fine so no need to overreact."

"_Arthur-_"

"Now, now calm down. I think it's safe to say that both of you put yourself in danger. But you're both alive and well now, so no need to fight about it."

"_Gwaine._" Both of the royals growled.

Gwaine smiled charmingly, "Come on now… Merlin didn't you have something to ask me?"

Merlin looked directly into Gwaine's golden-brown eyes as he spoke, "If you can, and I understand if you don't want to do this, but it would certainly mean a lot to me if you would go back to Camelot with Arthur when the time comes, and help protect him. God knows he needs it."

"What?! I do not need-"

"Arthur we both know you need it. Did you learn nothing from all the times I saved your royal ass?"

"You're royal too, idiot."

"At least I don't let it get to my head, you prat." Merlin paused for a moment before reaching behind him and pulling Gwaine, who had taken the opportunity to try and sneak away, back to the chair. "Gwaine you should know by now that you can't get by me that easily."

Gwaine looked at Merlin as his friend sat down in the chair next to him. He spoke his friend, "You know that I don't anchor myself to one place, Merlin. I'm a wanderer."

Merlin smiled sadly, "I figured you would say as much."

Gwaine looked Merlin in the eye, "You didn't let me finish Merlin… I'm a wanderer, but for you I will do this. You've helped me out of many... uh, interesting situations… time and time again. And you were the first person to see something more in me than just a crazy drunk who always causes trouble; you are my first friend, my best friend even." Gwaine smiled, "I will go to Camelot and protect the princess for you Merlin, cause' if you're asking this of me he must really need it-"

"Oi!"

"-but you also must have seen something in him, like you saw in me. And because of that I will do as you ask my friend."

"Thank you Gwaine."

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**And now that this ugly and frankly terrible transition is out of the way, the next, better, and I think longer chapter is also up. So read away!**


	31. Chapter 30

**For the record, this chapter might seem slightly misplaced. And yes, I know it's starting to seem to stretch on a ways doing this. But I have a plan. But I can't tell you. And if you ask, all you will receive is an exclamation of 'Spoilers!'. Anyways…**

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It had been three days since Morgause and Morgana had arrived on the Isle of the Blessed. In those three days, Morgause had told Morgana to leave the isle, and continue with the plan, and Morgana had travelled to Camelot, ready to finally get rid of the tyrant king.

Morgana looked at the great city with a smirk on her face. If all went to plan, then she should have the throne of Camelot within two weeks, and Merlin would be her prisoner shortly after.

She was wearing the green dress, which she had worn, when Merlin poisoned her. The dress was now in tatters, and covered in mud, and leaves, as was her hair. She looked as if she had been running, for days on end through the forest. Which of course wasn't true, but nobody needed to know that.

Morgana walked forward, making sure to be especially loud as she neared the city gates. Looking to where the guards stood, she approached; limping. Morgana cried out in mock pain, gaining the guards' attention, before falling to the ground feigning injury and exhaustion. As the guards ran towards he, Morgana quickly whispered a spell that would put herself to sleep, mimicking having passed out. And as the world went black around her, and the shouted words of her name began to fade away, Morgana thought about how _wonderful_ it was to be back in the lion's den.

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Gaius was sitting in his chambers, working on making a healing balm for the young lady in the lower town. He had been seeing to her for the past couple days, as she had accidently burned herself while cooking dinner. His thoughts drifted to Merlin and Arthur; wondering how they were faring.

It was at this moment that a two guards burst through his door, with a familiar shape carried between them. "What happened?" Gaius asked as the two guards laid Morgana on the patient bed. "Where did you find her?" Gaius struggled to remain looking more like a worried physician than an old man about to faint, because as soon as he had seen the Lady Morgana's unconscious form, an array of questions had popped into his mind. What was she doing here? Why was she here? Wasn't she in Snowdonia? Are Merlin and Arthur alright? But Gaius ignored these emotions and questions for now. It was more important that he kept a look of physician at work.

Gaius walked over to Morgana's prone form and began to inspect her. He found many small cuts, which most could mistake for being created by thorn bushes and stray twigs as a person ran by, however Gaius could tell that they were self-inflicted. The cuts were too cleanly made, and for the most part superficial, to even be considered natural. Even a knife couldn't easily have made the cuts, so Gaius assumed it was done by magic. But of course, Gaius wasn't going to reveal that to anyone.

Gaius went and quickly grabbed a bottle of salve from his shelves, and began to apply it to Morgana's cuts. He was almost finished when the door burst open and Guinevere came rushing in. "I heard…" her eyes landed on Morgana.

Gaius glanced at her, "Yes, she was brought in not too long ago. She should be fine, but would you be a dear and go bring me some water? I want to clean off some off this grime."

Guinevere smiled, "Of course." And she was out the door again.

Gaius looked at the two guards stood by the door, "Will one of you alert the king to Morgana's presence. I need room to work, and he'll want to be formed immediately." One of the guards gave a gruff grunt of acknowledgement, before turning and leaving the room.

It was a short while later that Gwen returned with a bucket of water and a wash cloth, and Gaius began to clean the dirt from Morgana's face, and arms. He had just washed away the last of it, when the door burst open again, this time by Uther. The king strode over to Morgana's side, brushed a stray hair out of her face and began to interrogate Gaius. "What happened?"

Gaius took a deep breath, and glanced towards the door where one of the guards still stood. "Apparently she came out of the forest and collapsed. The nearby guards found her."

"Will she be alright."

"…Yes. I've checked her over, and she should be fine. But she will need plenty of bed rest. Her body was put through a lot of strain. She must have over exhausted herself trying to escape Morgause." Gaius didn't really know why he was covering for Morgana, as he knew that Morgause had never posed a threat to her. He had even determined that the coma-like state that Morgana was currently in was most likely a magic induced sleep, and not actual brought on by exhaustion as she would have others believe. But, perhaps it was knowing that Morgana knew more about Merlin and Arthur's well-being than he did at the moment, and that Gaius simply wanted to know what had happened.

Uther was speaking again, "Yes, yes of course. I will be sure she remains in her room and gets the rest that she needs." Uther looked at Morgana again, "When should he wake up?"

Gaius frowned, if Morgana's current state was indeed magic induced, then it would depend on how much magic she put into the spell. He quickly calculated the best answer and spoke, "I believe that she should be awake in the next couple hours, but depending on how much she exhausted herself… it could be that she won't wake up until midday tomorrow… But sire, I do suggest that she not be told of the what is happening in Snowdonia with Prince Arthur and King Merlin. She has only just returne from a…. traumatic experience, I doubt having to know that Arthur is away at war currently, would be good for her well-being.

Uther nodded. "You are right of course. She will know nothing of the conflict." He looked at Morgana once more, "Inform me when she wakes." And he promptly walked out, leaving Gaius to sort out what to do next.

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As it was, Morgana woke up late that night, and was immediately brought to her old chambers, with guards assigned outside her doors. She was tended to by Guinevere, who was more than happy to see Morgana again. Gaius periodically checked in on her, and always seemed to prescribe more rest; infuriating morgana, who knew that Gaius knew, that she was perfectly healthy.

So it was five days later, in the earliest hours of morning, that Morgana managed to sneak out of her chambers, and make her way to Uther's. Morgana knocked on the door, and hearing Uther's call to enter, she opened the door and strode in. "Uther." She greeted.

Said man turned around and looked at her in surprise. "Morgana! You should be in bed; resting."

Morgana smiled, "Ah but I feel fine. And… I wanted to see you."

"Why of course! I will always have time for you Morgana." Uther smiled in return, whispering under his breath, "I couldn't bear to lose you again."

Morgana felt the desire to kill the monster in front of her now, but knew she needed to do this properly. She looked around the room, taking in everything; the table, the chairs, the shelves, and draws, and windows, the bird, the desk, the letters, the ink… wait… a bird? Morgana's eyes furrowed in confusion. "What is that bird doing here?"

Uther looked to the bird, "Oh it's nothing, just a message from… an ally."

Morgana's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but when Uther turned back, she was smiling a mask of innocent curiosity on her face. "Oh? Which ally would that be?"

"One from a smaller kingdom… the kingdom of Delfor." Uther mentally smiled at his brilliance of coming up with the lie. Delfor was a small kingdom to the south, not much further than Snowdonia if his memory served him right.

"I see… well sire, I've been cooped up in my room for so many days, why don't we take a walk and talk?"

Uther smiled, "I don't see why not." And they left the room, Morgana keeping Uther focused on her as she led them through the castle.

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It was late that night, when after a day of frantic searching by all the guards, knights and servants, that they finally found King Uther, lying on the cold stone floor of an unused hallway, a dagger in his chest and blood around his mouth and nose.

It took only a few hours for word to spread that the king was dead. And less than half that time for Gaius to realize that it was Morgana's doing, and as such, Gaius began searching the castle for Morgana, in hopes to discover what she was planning; much like Merlin would have.

It was this reason that brought Gaius to Uther's chambers in the earliest hours of the following morning to try to find out what happened. And it was here that Gaius found a bird he had never seen before, but judging by the harness, and the specific breed of falcon, he could hazard a guess.

"You must be Níl then." The bird cocked its head, before nudging a rolled up letter with his beak. The letter fell to the floor, and Gaius picked it up, reading every word written there.

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Merlin stood on the castle battlement, overlooking the city bellow, as his people began to filter into their houses for a well-earned dinner. He looked up the mountains where Kilgharrah had found a cave to take residence in. The sun began to sink behind the mountains.

It had been five days since Níl had left with the letter Arthur had sent, and Merlin expected him to be returning tonight. To be honest he had expected his beloved bird to return the previous day, but he suspected that there could have been some rough weather along the way, so he waited tonight for Níl's return.

Merlin thought over the past few weeks. So much had happened within that time; it almost seemed to be a dream. Every night when he went to bed, Merlin would wake up and think it was just that; a dream. But then he would realize that he was in _his_ bed, in _his_ castle.

He thought about it for a long time, so long that it soon was nearing morning, and Níl still hadn't returned yet. And as the sun rose above the mountains, Merlin searched the lightning sky, only to find no signs of life.

Merlin tore his gaze away, turning to go back into the castle. As he neared the door leading to the staircase, Merlin looked back at the mountains once more, scanning the horizon for any signs of Níl, and not finding him, went inside, a troubled expression on his face.

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**I again apologize for the mess of these couple chapters, I was kind of half asleep when writing them, and didn't have much editing time either with the chaos I've been piled with. And I truly and sorry this took so long. I actually hadn't been on until last Sunday. I haven't been able to do much of anything really. I kind of wonder if this is how Merlin felt while being run haggard trying to do chores for Gaius and Arthur while simultaneously trying to protect said prince. **

**Well review if your still reading this I guess. And please give me as much criticism about this chapter as you want, just don't insult me. There was one person who did so, and while I won't name names, I will say that I was very annoyed as what they had said about me was based on an assumption made by how I wrote this story, and I can't say how far off they were. Lesson here is as my mother says "Assuming makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'."**

**And yeah, I thinks that all I have left to say, except to apologize again. Hopefully I'll be able to update this much sooner in the coming week. But as I said in the first chapter for this update, there seems to be an ulterior force working against me. **

**And happy reading, writing, or whatever you'll be doing in the future! O.o**


	32. Chapter 31

**I feel terrible that I took this long to update again. Especially after saying I would probably have it up the same week as the last updates. I feel worse that this chapter is so short, and even worse that In about 2-3 days I'm going to be taken away from my home and put in a place called camp that allows for no electronics whatsoever. Not even an i pod or e-reader (apparently they might secretly have 4G on them. :'(. So I won't be online for about 4 weeks hence... And then proceed to smash my head in as I try to update this as hastily as possible afterwards. But I'm not going to start about the fiasco that has caused my lateness in this chapter, and therefore my terrible feelings of having taken so long and written such a short chapter, because then you would be sitting here for hours reading just this A/N.**

**I would however like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this story the past few weeks; it really has kept me motivated to keep up working on this.**

**So I hope this chapter was worth the wait for all of you. Enjoy!**

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Arthur was in the council chambers with Warrick, and Ileana. They were having a meeting over breakfast this morning to discuss what to do with all of Unwin's guards that had been brought back from the forest, and anywhere else, that were placed in the prison cells. They were waiting for a few more people, Merlin included, to show up.

Arthur sighed; it had been a hard week of repairing the city, and recuperating and healing the physical and mental wounds provided by Unwin's most recent attack. He knew it wasn't his duty to help Snowdonia recover, nor was he truly required to do anything except be a representative of his father, yet Arthur spent his days helping the kingdom as if it was his own.

The doors to the council room opened, and Arthur looked up, expecting Merlin to enter. He should have known better though; Merlin was always the last to arrive. Instead of Snowdonia's king, in entered Maurelle, and Jarret, who just so happened to be leading Leon as well. Arthur and Merlin had decided the day before that Leon should be present, as he was the oldest knight between Snowdonia and Camelot that had much experience with prisoners of war. It was also a plus that he was trusted by not only Arthur, but Merlin as well- and through him- the rest of Merlin's most trusted knights.

The trio took their seats at the table, and looked around. Leon looked to Arthur "Sire." He greeted.

Arthur smiled, "Good morning Leon. You haven't, by chance, seen Merlin this morning have you?"

"I have not sire." So of course it would be at that moment when Merlin comes through the doors, and plops done in his seat, head in hands, and eyes lost in thought. Everyone stopped talking, and looked at the king who was now rubbing his face in frustration and worry.

"Merlin? What's wrong?" Ileana asked.

"Níl has not returned. I worry that something has happened in Camelot."

Everyone at the table frowned, the sudden silence engulfing them until Arthur spoke up. "Maybe my father just hasn't had a chance to send a response yet. It's around the time for tax collections in Camelot, as well as taking inventory of the food stores. He's probably just caught up signing his papers, that he hasn't had a chance to write back."

Merlin smiled, "Yeah, maybe." But in truth Merlin didn't agree. The timing of this in correspondence with his vision was putting him on edge. Merlin knew something was wrong. "Anyways, shall we eat and discuss the guards? How many do we have in the cells?"

Warrick spoke up, "From our last count there were around two hundred."

Merlin sighed, "That's more than we've ever taken. I don't think the way we usually deal with them is going to work this time." Arthur and Leon were both confused, but everyone else at the table nodded in understanding. Merlin continued, "And we're not killing any unless absolutely necessary. I think there's been enough death in this kingdom, no need to add more to the pile."

"What about banishment?" No one answered Jarret's idea for a moment, letting it role around in their heads. It was Leon that finally spoke up.

"If you banish them, nothing will be holding them back except for the law and your own strength, and that's what they already faced. They could come back."

Merlin nodded, it was a valid point, "Thank you, both of you." Merlin said looking at both Jarret and Leon. He turned to Ileana and Maurelle, "Do you have anything to contribute?"

Ileana spoke up, "I've talked to some of the prisoners, and I don't think all of them joined Unwin voluntarily. Unwin was very cruel to them, just as he was with everyone. There were many there that lost family and friends, even lovers, because of Unwin's… _punishments_."

Merlin grimaced. "I'm not sure I want to know… hopefully it was quick… painless." Silence engulfed the room once more.

Maurelle coughed. "Perhaps we could offer them a choice. They can atone for their crimes through work, like we usually do, or they can be marched out by soldiers to the borders, and banished."

Merlin thought for a moment, "That still leaves us with the problems of them returning, or if they all chose to atone for their crimes against the kingdom. And the city and castle are already crowded with Camelot's knights and soldiers, as well as the druids that have remained here; especially since we're still rebuilding the houses, streets, and walls. There's not enough space left. But giving them a choice is a good idea Maurelle, we just need to choose the correct choices to offer.

Warrick spoke again, "What about some of the other villages in the kingdom? I know most of them are druids, or too small to hold anyone, but there are a few along the trading routes. We could send some there to work, and some could stay behind. They'll only be working for a year before they're free to do what they want. And some can remain here to help clean up the town, under supervision of course."

Arthur spoke next, "So you could offer that they atone for their deeds through service either here, or abroad, and you could still offer them something else… what about time in the cells? You could give them a half a year in prison."

Maurelle broke in, "These are good ideas, but some of them have families, children. What if they were forced to work for Unwin like Ileana said? They might be here solely because their family was threatened. They should be allowed an option that can let them see their wives and children."

Ileana nodded here head, "I agree. What if we offered them banishment as well, but not permanently? And a banishment that allowed them to still visit their families. Some of them might be in the outlying villages of the kingdom, but still on the borders. We can't just ask settled families to pick up everything they own and leave the kingdom because their husbands or fathers were forced to do something wrong; just to protect them. What if we only banished them from here, but not the whole kingdom? That way they don't have a cause to fight back against us for"

Merlin nodded his head, "That might work. That would give them four choices. Atonement within the city, or elsewhere in the kingdom for one year, minor banishment for… two, three years… or six months prison time. That sounds reasonable. Does anyone have any objections?" Nobody answered. "Well then, I guess that's what we'll do then."

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Camelot was currently in shambles, metaphorically that is. There was no one to rule, as the kingdom, as the king was dead, the prince was gone, as was the Leon who was the tertiary regent. On top of that there were rumors flying back and forth, and accusations and fights breaking out between people concerning the King Uther's murder. No one knew what to do, as the city struggled to keep together and wait for The Prince's return. However no one knew when that would be, as he was currently aiding an unknown ally at war with another kingdom, and as such, the kingdom looked for a leader, quickly sending it into a minor war of its own.

Morgana smirked as she looked down upon the chaos she had caused in so short of a time. Now she need only wait for Arthur to return, then capture him, and draw in _Merlin. _And then of course she would use Arthur to make Merlin submit. He would trade his own life to protect Arthur, but of course there would be none of that. She would restrain Merlin and his magic, and then she would play with her new toys.

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It had been another three days since Merlin had first begun worrying for Camelot, and now he stood on the roof of the castle at late night. The wind was blowing his cloak around him, giving the gold and silver strands of thread on it, the appearance of shifting, and swirling around him. The section of the roof was flat, and wide; made specifically for dragons to land upon in the past. It was now being used for that purpose once more.

Merlin watched as Kilgharrah landed, and bowed his head to him, "Hello young warlock."

"Kilgharrah."

The dragon eyed the king with a knowing gaze. "Something troubles you." It was not a question, Merlin answered anyways.

"I fear that something is happening in Camelot, yet I have nothing to confirm my suspicions."

"And why do you fear such a thing? You must have a base for your concerns."

Merlin frowned, "I recently had a vision, and though I cannot recall much of it, I do know that it involved Morgana, Arthur, and I. I also remember the fear and pain that felt."

"That is not uncommon for a seer Merlin."

"I am not I seer."

Kilgharrah sighed, "You may as well now be Merlin. You have seen all of time, and visions will present themselves to you as they would any other seer." Kilgharrah studied the young man before him, "But that is not all that causes you to feel such trepidation. Is it?"

Merlin looked out towards the mountains, "I sent Níl out with a message to Camelot. He should have returned by now, and I know that Uther would reply to it as soon as the letter was received. It had to do with Arthur, and if there's one thing left in this world that Uther treasures, then it is Arthur… but my magic has been alert as well, and the earth whispers to be cautious."

"I do not think that your fears are misplaced young warlock. I too can feel magic's warnings. But I do not think it is something to dwell to long on. Destiny-"

"But that's just it isn't it." Merlin interrupted. "Destiny is no longer set in stone. Even for the little time that Unwin's altered form had remained alive, was enough to corrupt it. There now lays more than one path for destiny. Only a few stones in the path are left upturned Kilgharrah, and those are few and fleeting. It is possible for someone to miss a step in the path, and turn away from it. They can now change all that we have worked for, and if Camelot falls so too will all of Albion, starting with Snowdonia."

Kilgharrah did not respond. The dragon knew that Merlin was right. The road which had once been clear was now left in shambles, and as the young warlock had said, few stones were left upturned. Destiny, which had once been a strong, unfading ray of truth and hope, was now quivering, and fading in and out with every shadow that passed it. All that destiny was now, was just that; _hope_.

Kilgharrah thought before he spoke aloud to Merlin, who was quite clearly aggravated and fearful. "Perhaps the unclarity in destiny is what will make it all the stronger, for now you and Arthur, and all those around you must believe even more firmly in it." Merlin blinked once, then twice, before sighing, and giving Kilgharrah a faint smile.

"Perhaps you are right."

Kilgharrah followed Merlin's gaze out onto the mountains, and towards Camelot, as he spoke to the boy, "But neither you nor I should disregard our worries either. I fear that while we have won the first battle, and now heal our wounds, that the war is still not over."

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**When is the war ever over for Merlin? I mean really? He's a;ways fighting for Camelot and Arthur. And for those who think this is drawn out a bit, I'm just going to make mention that in later chapters I referred to this conflict that Arthur and Merlin were entering as a war, and to me a war normally isn't ended with just one battle. But that's just me. **

**And for those who might be confused about the last part of this chapter let me explain, (though I do warn you I'm not very good with explanations, I normally end up confusing people for life) anyways... pretty much Merlin talks to Kilgharrah about his worries for Camelot's safety because of course our favorite bird, Níl, is taking forever to get to Camelot and back. Pretty much Kilgharrah agrees with Merlin that Camelot might be in danger, and that they should not dismiss their worries because destiny isn't necessarily going to happen now, but that might just be what makes it all the more likely to happen, (confusing right?) and the dragon also thinks that the war isn't over yet (hint hint) but that they should still trust in destiny (even if he implies that they should also try harder for it). **

**So if that made any sense then YAY! If not, just forget all that is written in this A/N and let the story play out for you some more...**

**And I may or may not be changing the name of this fic in the near not so near future... you have been forewarned.**

**Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter, and please tell me what you think.**

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**On a side note, does anyone else get really confused between Gwaine's and Gwen's names. They're names are far to similarly spelled.**** Just putting it out there.**


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